


Runaways

by dying_deist



Series: On Earth As It Is In Hell [1]
Category: Ghost (Sweden Band)
Genre: Aftercare, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Asexual Character, Blood and Injury, Blow Jobs, Breathplay, Cannibalism, Cuddling & Snuggling, Era IV, Established Relationship, Eventual Smut, Flashbacks from Era III, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hand Jobs, Love Confessions, M/M, Makeup Sex, Mentions of Multi Ghoul | Swiss Army Ghoul / Water Ghoul relationship, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death, Miscommunication, Moral Dilemmas, Open Relationships, Polyamory, Rough Sex, Slow Burn, Spells & Enchantments, Vaseline, Violence, a bit of spanking, polycule
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2020-02-27 14:00:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 55,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18740488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dying_deist/pseuds/dying_deist
Summary: Dewdrop is given a mission he cannot refuse, no matter the personal cost.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I can't believe I'm finally able to post this fic! I've been working on this since December, this is my baby and I put so much love and work to finish this! Concluding this was a personal achievement to me and I'm so grateful for all the help and support that I got from my friends! This fic would never be possible if it were not for my brazilian friends @ghulehmonster (from twitter) for prompting the main plot and @almightydino. Special thanks to my beloved friends and betas @copias_gloves and @mercyfull (I'll be eternally thankful for your feedback and the time you took to discuss ideas with me. You're like the stepmom of this fic). I love you all!
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this story as much as I do <3
> 
> P.s.: credits to @catacombsaint for coming up with the nickname "Dewdrop"

Dewdrop had received a private message from Sister Imperator the night before; he should show up to her office before dawn and couldn’t mention the meeting to anyone. He found himself confused when he read the note since it didn’t specify the matter, but he knew it’d be better to not ignore such a message from the Sister - she was known for being a very strict person who would do anything to keep the clergy running as expected, even if it meant to kill its previous leaders, for instance.

The ghoul obeyed the order and stood in front of her office at the requested time. He knocked at the door twice before turning the knob, announcing his arrival. He peeked inside the room and found five nameless ghouls and Sister Imperator herself looking at him silently demanding him to enter the office once and for all.

The guitarist closed the door behind himself and approached the others, waiting for any pronouncement from the woman in front of them. She examined the ghouls one by one with her eyes and Dewdrop couldn’t help feeling even more confused about the whole situation.

Sadly he only recognized one of the ghouls, and not by a fond memory; on the contrary, a few years ago they’ve had a violent quarrel that resulted in several wounds for the other ghoul. Dewdrop sensed that said ghoul was eyeing him, which made him uncomfortable enough to hope that the meeting wouldn’t last for too long.

Fortunately Sister Imperator soon began to speak, “Now that you are all here I must warn you that you are forbidden to tell anyone else about what we’re going to discuss now, otherwise I will make sure to punish you myself.” She threatened the ghouls, who tensed up in fear. They’d heard enough rumours to know that she wasn’t kidding. “Understood?”

“Yes, Sister.” They promptly replied in unison.

“Good. So, I’m certain that you are aware of the rebellious ghouls that escaped the clergy a few years ago.” Dewdrop remembered when that happened. He had just joined the church and was growing closer to an earth ghoul that later became one of the deserters. There was so much tension around that time.

“Well, the thing is that they’ve been bothering us a lot lately. A  _ lot _ .” She emphasized. “At first we thought they were just runaways longing for some sort of acceptance among human beings, or whatever bullshit.” She snorted and shook her head in disapproval. “But they’ve actually tried to boycott our actions many times already.” Sister massaged her temples, visibly annoyed. “I need your help to put an end to this situation.”

The ghouls exchanged confused glances.

“And by ‘end’ I mean chasing and killing them. It’s the most effective way to clean this mess.” Imperator had her eyes locked on the ghouls as if she was waiting for a response from them.

Dewdrop had no idea why the hell she would choose him for a mission like that, he was a band ghoul after all. Band ghouls didn’t get involved in matters like that, only those regarding the band itself. He thought that maybe she had made a mistake. Pretty unlikely though. But the ghoul decided to stay quiet and listen to what the Sister had to say.

She took a few papers that were on the left side of her desk, “We have clues of their whereabouts, so you need to head to this place,” she circled a spot on a map, “and confirm if it’s the right one so we can proceed with our plan later. Am I being clear?” Her tone was harsh, but the ghouls nodded. “Good. Make sure to meet me in the dungeons at midnight. I will give you more details there. You can go now and don’t forget to keep your filthy mouths shut, I’m sure you want to keep your tongues in place.”

She waved them off and collected her papers while the ghouls left the office. Except for Dewdrop, who stood in the same spot. Sister Imperator looked up from her desk and raised an eyebrow. “Do you need something, ghoul?”

“Sister, may I ask why you assigned me to this mission?” He tried his best to keep a polite tone.

“Hm, do you know the other ghouls who were here today?”

“Only one of them.”

“I see. And what can you tell me about him?”

Dewdrop tilted his head in confusion, not sure what kind of answer the Sister was expecting from him.

“Just describe his behaviour to me. Be honest.” She said.

“He’s a jerk and I hate him.”

“Why?” Imperator placed both her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on her intertwined fingers, leaning forward, curious to listen more.

“We almost killed each other once. He’s so stupid and has no brain, he’s always picking purposeless fights with other ghouls. I still don’t understand what use that idiot has for the clergy, he should’ve stayed in hell. ” Dewdrop bluntly answered.

“I’m aware of everything you pointed out.” She smirked. “I must say that the other ghouls act basically in the same way. You could say that they still are wild ghouls being guided by their primal instincts. Do you see the pattern now?”

“I’m afraid I don’t.” He fidgeted in his spot, already too anxious to understand why he was part of the mission. Dewdrop was too impatient and preferred objective answers. He hated runarounds.

“Why do you think you were called here?”

“I don’t know!” The ghoul contained the urge to raise his voice and took a deep breath before continuing. “That’s why I’m asking you, Sister.” He gritted his teeth and the woman chuckled.

“I know you’ve been trying really hard to blend with the rest of the clergy ghouls, but you know they fear you, don’t you?” She asked and Dewdrop tilted his head again, confused blue eyes looking in the direction of the Sister. “You can’t deny your nature, ghoul. You’re still too aggressive to be walking safely around the others. Not only that, you are also disobedient towards the clergy’s wishes, you don’t take us seriously and are often ignoring orders and doing things your way.”

The Sister’s words hit home and Dewdrop bit his tongue. It was true that other ghouls were afraid of him, even his bandmates took quite some time to get used to his presence and start to accept him. It was also true that he was not one to follow rules and orders, he’d been called out on his misbehaviour many times now.

“While I can’t deny your remark, I’m no murderer, Sister.”  _ At least not anymore _ , he thought to himself.

Since he joined the clergy, and especially after meeting Aether, Dewdrop decided to put an end to his savage days. No more cannibalism, laceration, purposeless violence or any other lethal behaviour. Aether was crucial in helping him realize the path he should follow from now on. Sure, there were a few unfortunate incidents during Dewdrop’s first years living on the surface, but he has changed so much since then.

And Aether had been so proud of him those days.

He didn’t want to screw everything now because of a stupid mission that didn’t concern him in the first place. “I’m sorry, but I must decline, Sister.”

“Well, it’s not like you can actually accept or refuse an order, ghoul.” Imperator sighed and leaned back in her chair, already tired of the long talk. “You’re going and that’s it.”

“Is there anything I could do to not go?” He huffed irritated.

“Sure, you can go back to hell.”

“What?”

“Who do you think you are, ghoul? Why would you have any say in this? What makes you think you can question my command?”

“I-”

“Silence.” She uttered. “This only proves how unworthy you are of holding privileges like the ones you have for being in the band.”

Dewdrop could feel the blood rushing up to his head and he was not even sure what exactly was holding him back from making a scene.

“If you think you’re special for being the lead guitarist I’m afraid I have bad news to you. You’re replaceable, my dear. You may be good in what you do, but it’s no use if you keep misbehaving. I’m sure you don’t want to go back nor leave the side of your beloved ghoul, am I right?”

The ghoul froze in his spot. Was she threatening him? He squinted and felt a drop of sweat running down his forehead under the mask. Dewdrop rarely felt afraid of anything, but Sister Imperator was as impish as the ghouls reigning down below.

And she was damn right again. He didn’t know what he’d do if he were to be sent back to hell and never saw Aether again. He’d feel desolated again, but worse now that there would be a huge hole in his heart.

Dewdrop would never survive in a scenario like that.

At the same time he didn’t want to disappoint Aether, he didn’t want to kill anyone. Shit, he was doing so well, why would he take many steps back when he’d evolved so much?

But the Sister demanded secrecy, the mission should not be acknowledged by anyone else. Aether would never find out Dewdrop was a murderer. Maybe Aether would never find out that the deserters were chased down and killed.

Only Dewdrop would hate to lie to Aether. They’ve been sincere with each other since the beginning. The guitarist felt himself at home when he was with his partner, it’d kill him from the inside if he were to lie to Aether about such a thing.

To lie or to be sent back to hell?

It was such a hard decision and Dewdrop wasn’t ready to choose his path yet. He could only agree with the mission for the time being.

Maybe he’d find a way out of this mess later. He would  _ have _ to.

“Okay. I will go.” The ghoul answered between gritted teeth.

“As if you had an option, ghoul.” She gave him a fake smile before frowning and dismissing him motioning towards the door. “See you later.”

And Dewdrop left her office.

***

The fire ghoul wandered aimlessly through the church’s aisles. His first thought was to seek consolation in Aether, but Dewdrop knew it’d not be the best decision at the moment, he didn’t want to appear that there was something wrong and he knew that Aether would quickly realize that. At the same time, the ghoul was aware that he couldn’t, nor did he want to, avoid his partner forever. He just needed some time to put his thoughts in place.

Before he could realize, Dewdrop stood in front of the entrance to Earth’s greenhouse, the earthy and green smell entering his nostrils. He decided to enter the place, his eyes scanning the vines attached to huge, blurry glass windows from where the sunlight comes through. The greenhouse was roomy enough to accommodate several plants, such as flowers of different colours and shapes, countless herbs and a few vegetables and fruits too. Although Dewdrop found the planting kind of charming and interesting, he honestly couldn’t recognize more than four or five species.

The ghoul spotted Earth further in the back watering some pretty yellow flowers. “Dewdrop?” Earth glanced at the fire ghoul, surprised by his visit. Dewdrop didn’t have the habit of going there. “Do you need anything?”

“Uh, no. I was just passing by.” It wasn’t actually a lie, but he scratched his nape, looking at his feet, clearly anxious, which the Earth ghoul soon noticed.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Tea?” Dewdrop looked up at him and Earth nodded.

“Yeah, I just finished taking care of these chrysanthemums and I was going to take a break. Will you join me?”

The fire ghoul pondered for a few seconds. “Why not?” He shrugged. Despite his nonchalant behaviour, Dewdrop knew he was just trying to mask his unease.

Earth guided him out of the greenhouse and they headed to the common kitchen. The tall drummer kindly asked the fire ghoul to boil some water while he reached the top cabinet, without any difficulty, and took a glass container with a tag ‘Earth’s - DO NOT TOUCH’. He placed the container onto the kitchen counter and Dewdrop noticed tiny dried flowers inside the glass.

“What are those?” he asked.

“Chamomile. It’ll help you relax.”

“I don’t need to relax,” the smaller ghoul retorted and Earth rolled his eyes.

“That’s exactly something that someone who needs to relax would say.”

“Whatever.” Annoyed, Dewdrop crossed his arms and leaned against the counter while he watched the other ghoul preparing the tea, which didn’t take too long. Soon enough, both ghouls had their cups of tea in hands.

The guitarist absentmindedly blew the hot liquid before taking a sip. He was trying his best to not think about the mission at that exact moment because he was afraid that Earth would flood him with questions.

But that was not the case. The drummer, who was beside Dewdrop, kept silent during their little time. The fire ghoul wasn’t sure whether Earth actually noticed anything out of the ordinary, but even if he did, Dewdrop was thankful for the other’s discretion. It was true that both of them hadn’t engaged in many conversations since they met, but to be fair, Earth was not one to talk much.

The tall ghoul could be found most of the time in his greenhouse, taking care of his plants - his dear companions - but Dewdrop has always faced that fact as Earth’s choice. He was quiet and thoughtful (not to mention sleepy too); probably just the kind of ghoul he was, and his bandmates respected him nonetheless.

Now that Dewdrop took his time to think about it, he was actually enjoying the interaction with Earth, even if they had not exchanged a single word; the presence of the other was soothing on its own.

Maybe they should hang out more often. Who knows?

“How was it?” Earth broke the silence and Dewdrop looked up at him in confusion, moving away from his thoughts. “The tea. Did you like it?”

“Oh.” The fire ghoul glanced down at the cup in his hands and noticed it empty. “Yes, it tasted good. Thank you.”

“Ah, so the rumours that you are able to thank others are true!”

“Hey, fuck off!” Dewdrop nudged Earth, who chuckled in response and patted the smallest one on the back before taking both their cups to the sink.

***

“There you are!” A familiar voice came from behind him, but before Dewdrop could spin on his heels to confirm who it was, he was wrapped in a tight hug, clunking their masks in the process.

“Aether!” The fire ghoul said breathlessly.

“I was looking for you the whole morning! Where have you been?” He finally loosened the embrace and turned Dewdrop so they could face each other.

“Uh, I woke up with an annoying headache, sorry. I wasn’t feeling really well.” He quickly made up an excuse.

“Oh, I see. How do you feel now?” The other asked, worried.

Dewdrop couldn’t help a smile forming on his face, he loved Aether so much that just the presence of the ghoul was enough to make him forget his problems for the time being. “I’m fine.” He gripped Aether’s collar and tiptoed to peck on his lips.

“Good to know. So, you ready for rehearsal?”

Right, the ghouls were supposed to rehearse that afternoon and Dewdrop had briefly forgotten about it. “Sure! I was born ready.”

Aether noticed the fire ghoul smugly winking through the eye holes of the mask and smiled back at him, patting him on the butt before they both headed towards the rehearsal place.

When they arrived there, both air ghoulettes and Earth were already preparing their instruments. “Hey, guys!” Blizzard, the tall ghoulette, waved at them. “Have you seen Multi or Water?”

“Hm, no. I haven’t seen them since last night.” Aether replied and Dewdrop shook his head too while walking towards his white guitar, promptly beginning to tune it, Aether soon doing the same.

“Weird, no one has seen them this morning.” The ghoulette scratched her chin and Breeze, the short ghoulette, muffled a giggle. “What?”

“I bet they are fucking.” She affirmed.

“Oh…!”

“Wait, Multi and Water?!” Earth suddenly joined the conversation.

“You didn’t know?” Breeze asked. “It’s been a while now.”

“I’m afraid I’m not aware of my bandmates’ love lives.” He said in a playful tone before resuming his preparations for the rehearsal, but Dewdrop, who was hearing the conversation, felt that his comment might have sounded bittersweet.

Half an hour had passed since everyone finished getting ready to start the rehearsal and no sign of Multi and Water. “You know what? Maybe we should start without them.” Blizzard proposed, already too tired of waiting.

Before anyone could utter their agreements or disagreements the door was opened with some caution, but the smell of pheromones that followed caught everyone’s attention anyways. Then a horned ghoul mask emerged through the crack, peering inside the room.

“Hm, excuse us...” The water ghoul shyly announced and finally entered the place, quickly heading in the direction of his bass without looking at any of his companions. Multi came in next, but his behaviour was more relaxed, stretching out and greeting the others.

“You were right.” Blizzard whispered into the other ghoulette’s ear and they fought the urge to giggle.

“So,” Multi spoke. “Shall we begin?”

“Bold of you to be late and act like you have not kept us waiting for a fucking long time.” Dewdrop snarkily remarked, crossing his arms.

Water flinched in his spot, looking down at his feet. Even though Dewdrop’s comment was directed at Multi, the bassist felt just as guilty.

“I suppose I lost track of time.” Multi replied, nonchalantly.

“Why?”

“Dew, enough.” Aether sighed and tugged on the fire ghoul’s sleeve. “It’s no use.”

The short ghoul snorted and looked away from Multi. The atmosphere was suddenly uncomfortable and everyone got silent until Blizzard finally said something. “Let’s not waste any more time.”

They all agreed and finally started the rehearsal.

But something was off. The ghouls had to soundcheck the same parts of a song multiple times because Dewdrop got many notes wrong, which was actually very rare to happen. Every time he made a mistake he’d tsk in annoyance and shake his head.

“Are you okay?” Aether asked quietly and Dewdrop nodded, but the big ghoul knew better. Maybe they should talk after the rehearsal.

Truth is that the lead guitarist couldn’t concentrate at the moment. He tried his best to avoid the intrusive thoughts throughout the day, but he couldn’t be successful the whole time. He believed that his mind would be at ease during the practice session, but he was so wrong. All he could think was that in a few hours he’d be sent somewhere by Imperator herself.

Dewdrop didn’t want to acknowledge that he was afraid of what lies ahead.

They finished practicing for the day and were now organizing their instruments. That was when Multi approached the fire ghoul, placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear. “Bold of you to complain about me when  _ you  _ were the one screwing up the rehearsal.”

As if that was the last straw, Dewdrop spun on his heels and tightly tugged on Multi’s collar, pulling him down to look him in the eyes. Dewdrop’s furious wide blue eyes apparently were not intimidating enough to make the smirk on Multi’s face vanish.

“Multi!” Water called him, worried about the confrontation.

Exposing his split tongue, the tall ghoul licked his thumb and cleaned a smudge on the lead guitarist’s mask, clearly taunting him. And that action had an instant effect on Dewdrop, who shoved Multi against the nearest wall.

“Stop now!” Aether stepped between the ghouls on the verge of fighting, pulling Dewdrop by his wrist, but the fire ghoul’s eyes wouldn’t break away from Multi’s.

“He gets on my nerves.” Dewdrop said through gritted teeth while watching Water check on Multi, who still had a sly grin on his face.

“What the fuck is wrong with you today? That was so uncalled for.” Aether sounded disappointed and realization finally sunk in when they left the place.

“You saw him teasing me!”

“It’s not like you didn’t start it earlier, Dew.” He sighed, tired of that mess.

Multi and Dewdrop fought often, both being dominant fire ghouls, so it was expected, however Aether and Water were afraid that their partners could get too physical someday. Sure Dewdrop has learnt a lot how to control his most violent instincts, and he never actually hurt Multi for real, they just had many arguments and sometimes pushed one another, but it’d be better if they didn’t take things too far.

Nevertheless it was not like the two of them  _ only _ fought. They were able to get along well most of the time and had even revealed their faces to one another. Well, they even had been intimate too.

One thing was certain: fire ghouls were the worst to deal with.

Soon Aether and Dewdrop arrived at the dorms and, without even noticing Aether stopping before the door of his room, the small ghoul kept walking.

“Dew?” Aether called him and the ghoul looked over his shoulder. “You’re not coming?”

“Uh, sorry… I think my headache is worse, maybe I should go to bed earlier.”

“You sure?” Aether approached Dewdrop, cupping his face with both hands and kissing him briefly. “We could take a hot shower and I could give you a massage, how does it sound?” he asked, lips brushing against Dewdrop’s at every word that he said.

Of course the fire ghoul would love to spend the night with his partner, he could even feel his body starting to heat up at the thought of what they could do together, but he couldn’t risk skipping Imperator’s orders. And he knew it’d be too difficult and suspicious if he were to leave during the night. What would he say to Aether? It’d be better if he just went to his room and waited for the agreed hour without having to lie about where he was going.

Dewdrop wrapped his arms around Aether’s neck and gave him a deep kiss, the other ghoul sliding his hands down Dewdrop’s back until he stepped back and looked at him with sad eyes. “As much as I’d love to stay, I can’t tonight.”

Aether nodded, shoving his hands inside his front pockets. He tried to look casual, but Dewdrop noticed his cheerless manner. “It’s fine.”

“Sorry… I love you.”

“I love you too.” Aether gave him a smile before hugging Dewdrop and picking him up off the ground, what made the fire ghoul gasp in surprise.

“Hey!”

Aether chuckled and put him back on the floor. “Sorry. Now you can go.”

“You’re so silly.” Dewdrop snorted and shook his head while trying to refrain from smiling.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

And then Dewdrop went to his own room.

***

He waited restlessly for the next few hours, his eyes barely ever looking away from the clock on his wall. Dewdrop had no idea what would come across his way and he actually wished they wouldn’t be able to find any clues as to the fugitives’ whereabouts.

When it was ten to midnight, Dewdrop hurried to the dungeons being careful enough to not be seen by anyone. Soon he was there and met up with four other nameless ghouls who would join him in the mission. They only exchanged glances without uttering a word and waited for Imperator. Dewdrop noticed the absence of the ghoul with whom he didn’t get along,and wondered what had happened to him.

The woman arrived at midnight and just motioned for them to follow her through the stone corridors. It was getting darker and colder as they stepped inside the dungeon and all they could hear was the echo of their shoes tapping the floor and the clank of the iron keys hanging on Imperator’s hips.

They finally arrived at a wooden door with a single torch near it and the old woman took the bunch of keys, found the correct one to open the door and pushed it, revealing a stone room, lit by five big candles on the floor. She asked the ghouls to enter and then locked the door again behind her.

Dewdrop cautiously observed the place; he’d never been there, but he saw a familiar symbol drawn with white material on the floor. It was the sigil of Baphomet and each candle was placed at the end of each point of the pentagram. The first time he saw one of these was when he was summoned by the clergy. Would they forcedly summon the rebellious ghouls? He didn’t know that was a manageable move and he didn’t dare to ask questions now.

“Ghouls,” Sister called their attention. “Each of you should step inside a point according to your element. Pay attention to the symbols on the floor.”

And so they did. Dewdrop soon found the point with the alchemical symbol of fire drawn inside it. When all five ghouls were in their spots, Imperator clasped her hands together and said, “Well, a pentacle exactly like this one is ready in another place far away from here and you’re are going to be invoked there. Now I’m going to perform a ritual that serves as a bridge to the other pentacle.” She explained.

The only thing Dewdrop was sure of was that there were many things going on in the clergy that he had no knowledge about, even things regarding ghouls, his own species.

Soon enough the woman began uttering words in an ancient yet familiar language. The fire of the candles flickered and Dewdrop felt his throat dry and his limbs tingling. His eyes scanned the room, but the shimmer made it difficult for him to meet the other ghouls’s eyes through their mask holes, so he wasn’t sure if he was the only one feeling ill and dizzy.

There was something wrong with the ritual, he felt like he was about to spill his guts and had to fight the urge to do so just as he saw two of the ghouls falling to their knees and emitting a pained sound.

The flames were more agitated now and Dewdrop couldn’t hold it anymore, he collapsed on the floor and vomited bile before he lost consciousness.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is much appreciated, I'd love to know your thoughts! <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first night of the mission, a captive, books and breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter of my long fic! 
> 
> Thanks @mercyfull and @copias_gloves for the beta work <3

_ “He’s dead.” Someone said. _

_ “Whatever, leave him behind.” Another voice. _

_ “Wait, I think he’s still alive.” _

_ “He’s moving.” _

_ “He could have just stayed dead.” _

***

Dewdrop awoke with a terrible pain in his stomach and his first instinct was to sit up, turn his body to the side and spew up. The sensation of his insides contracting added to the pain in his head made him want to die.

“What the fuck?” He muttered to himself, breathlessly, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

He tried to focus on his surroundings, but everything was spinning. The fire ghoul led one hand to massage his temples and tightly squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again. He couldn’t recognize the place, but they were in the ruins of some old building, there was fog filling the empty spaces and reddish dense clouds above them. It seemed like it was later than midnight, so Dewdrop could only assume they were far away from the Abbey, just like Imperator mentioned.

The guitarist finally stood up with some difficulty and saw the place where he was lying just before, the Baphomet sigil. He never expected a summon to have such disturbing side effects and he wished he’d not have to return home by the same method.

“If you take any longer we’re gonna leave you behind.” Said the ghoul who Dewdrop despised the most. “The old woman told us to inspect the place and look for clues of the fugitives. Hurry up, we only have an hour before she invokes us back.”

“Did she assign you as the leader of the mission?” Dewdrop sarcastically asked and crossed his arms.

“She did. Is there any problem?” The ghoul stepped towards the guitarist and looked down at him with furious yellow eyes.

Dewdrop’s only wish at that moment was to throw himself over the detestable ghoul, choke him with all his strength and stab him in the guts with his bare hands, but he knew he was better than that.

Wasn’t he?

In the end he didn’t have much of a choice, so he used all his self-control to refrain from attacking the ghoul right there, but he couldn’t believe that Sister Imperator let such a jerk lead the mission.

“You gotta be kidding me.” Dewdrop mumbled and the ghoul walked away.

“How did you get here first? You weren’t with us at the dungeons.” Another ghoul asked.

“I have my own particular transportation.” He snorted, pointing at a circle with a single dot on the ground near the sigil. “Besides, who do you think drew the other pentacle here to summon you idiots?” The leader pushed the ghoul by the shoulder, who hissed back at him. “Listen,” he took a few pieces of cloth from his inner pocket and tossed one at each ghoul. “Now be the good sniffer dogs you are and find any useful clues.”

Dewdrop was confused at first, but when he finally decided to take in the smell of the cloth he realized whose scent it was and it pained his heart to know that he’d have to track down an old acquaintance. He didn’t want to follow the orders, he just wanted to go back to the Abbey, to the comfort of Aether’s embrace and forget about this stupid mission.

But he knew that was not an option, especially when he looked up from the cloth and found predatory yellow eyes staring at him. He immediately looked away and tried to focus on the damn mission.

The fire ghoul went up some old stairs nearby and sniffed the fabric again, some memories coming to his mind. He still acted a lot like a wild ghoul when he joined the clergy and almost everyone was afraid of him, so it was very difficult for Dewdrop to make friends back then, or anything remotely close to a friend. So when that earth ghoul approached him for the first time and offered a bite of his food, Dewdrop thought that maybe he could trust that one ghoul.

It was way before he was qualified to join the band, but he never actually became close friends with the ghoul, he just remembered him as someone who would not fear Dewdrop and cared enough to feed him when he was caged for misbehaving; or someone who introduced him to the instruments room, what led to Dewdrop finding his passion for playing the bass and the guitar. Maybe the earth ghoul didn’t even remember him since he fled the clergy five or six months after Dewdrop was summoned.

And now he was there about to chase him down.

The guitarist sighed, he didn’t feel like he belonged among those wild ghouls anymore, but what could he do? He was at a disadvantage. He wondered if he’d ever come up with a plan to get rid of the mission without disappointing Aether or being sent back to hell, he was running out of time.

Dewdrop decided to obey for the time being… Once again. He actually didn’t put in much effort to find clues, so after half an hour of investigation he gladly gave up and retreated back to where the other ghouls where, but just as he was on his way he heard a yelp coming from the ruins at his right.

Startled, he immediately widened his eyes when the smell of blood reached his nostrils, running in the same direction. He soon arrived to a burnt down shack where the other ghouls formed a circle around a body collapsed over a pile of burnt wood.

“What happened?” He asked.

The leader then crouched beside the fallen ghoul and grabbed him by the hair, lifting his head so the others could see the broken mask revealing a bleeding scratched eye. Dewdrop felt a little relief when he saw that it was not the earth ghoul he knew, but at the same time he was still confused about what was going on.

“This insect” The leader spat on the ghoul’s mask, “was caught by one of ours trying to flee.”

Dewdrop quickly glanced at the other ghouls and noticed one of them breathing heavily and with blood dripping from his hand.

“Now we’re gonna take this scum back with us.”

“But Sister told us to kill them.” Another ghoul promptly said.

“She did, but we only captured one, we can make him say where the others are.”

The ghouls complied, dragging the injured ghoul back to where their invocation circles were drawn. They waited for a few minutes until the agreed hour for Imperator to summon them back to the dungeons, which unfortunately was as bad as the first time, but they made it anyways.

“Impressive.” was the first thing the woman said when she saw they were able to capture a fugitive. “Is he still alive?” The leader kicked the sides of the ghoul who cried out in response. “Great. Tie him up.”

Two ghouls obeyed and soon the deserter was placed seated with his back against the wall, agonizing in pain. It was then that Dewdrop noticed that not only the eye of the ghoul was injured, but so was his stomach; there was a narrow hole in his tunic just above where his navel was.

He was bleeding. The other ghoul had probably stabbed him with his bare hand when captured him, exactly how Dewdrop had imagined doing with the leader. The guitarist gulped.

“Ghoul.” Sister called Dewdrop. “Remove his mask.” He looked from her to the ghoul a few times. “Now.” She said in a stern tone.

Dewdrop held his breath and kneeled down beside the ghoul and reached his mask, but it took him a few moments before he had the guts to reveal the other’s face while the ghoul was looking at him with his healthy eye.

The guitarist saw the despair in those brown eyes.

Ghouls only showed their faces to those who they trusted the most; forcibly doing so was considered an act of violation.

Dewdrop felt ashamed.

He looked away when the ghoul’s face was revealed and quickly got on his feet, walking back to his previous spot. He didn’t notice, but Sister Imperator closely observed his behaviour before she got her attention back to the captured ghoul. “Tell us, ghoul, what’s your element?”

No response. He only eyed the floor. Sister nodded to the leader, who tugged on the ghoul’s hair and hit his head against the wall.

“Air!” he finally answered, breathlessly and frowning.

“Aww, an air ghoul.” The woman faked wonder. “Be a good boy and tell us where your friends are, will you?”

Dewdrop knew Imperator was cold-hearted, but he had never experienced it firsthand. And he was disgusted.

Once again the ghoul didn’t reply, which led the leader to insert two fingers into his injury, making him scream in pain. Dewdrop shivered in his spot.

Not a word.

“Hm… Maybe he just needs some time to get used to his new home. Leave him be for now.” Imperator motioned for the leader to get up and reunite with them. “I’m sure he’ll be more cooperative by tomorrow after spending a night without food, water or something to warm him inside this cold room with the company of the rodents only.”

They stepped out of the place, then the woman locked the door and spun on her heels to face the six ghouls. “Your presences are only required on the morning of the day after tomorrow. Don’t forget to keep silent about this whole mission.” She glanced at Dewdrop while saying that. “Have a good night, ghouls. Enjoy your day off.” Imperator sarcastically said as she walked towards the exit of the dungeons.

***

Dewdrop was finally back in his room. It was already half past two in the morning when he turned on the faucet and let the hot water soak his long hair. He had both hands and his forehead placed on the wall before him while he stared at nothing. He then led one hand to the back of his head and slowly ran his fingers through the wet locks while taking in everything that had happened in the past hours.

It was real. The mission was real and he was taking part in it against his will. “Fuck.” He muttered under his breath.

What would he do? When would all of this be over?

***

He couldn’t get a good night’s sleep.  Just as Dewdrop was about to drift off, he’d suddenly be fully alert and have to start the process of falling asleep all over again. The fire ghoul then would turn from one side to the other trying different positions but it was impossible for him to feel comfortable. His duvet felt as cold as ice and his mattress as hard as a rock; Dewdrop knew it was fruit of his imagination and it pissed him off not being able to control it.

The guitarist was freezing, his whole body hurt and he had a fever. When he felt sick he realized all those symptoms were probably side effects of being summoned twice in the same night. He cursed in discomfort until he finally fell asleep.

For two hours only.

Dewdrop woke up at half past five with a throbbing head and burning eyes. He took a hot shower, got dressed and went straight to the library, skipping breakfast. The place was empty and silent since it was still too early in the morning, so he felt more at ease to look for a book about summoning rituals.

The library was vast and filled with uncountable huge rows of ancient books. It was unusual for him to visit that place so it took him quite some time before he actually found the section which interested him. Reading the spine of several books sideways wasn’t helping his headache either, but the fire ghoul finally found a thick, hardcover book named _Forgotten Rituals of Summoning_.

The guitarist took the book to an isolated table at the back of the library, somewhere he wouldn’t expect to be disturbed. When he opened the moldy tome he couldn’t stop himself from coughing. “How old is this shit?” He mumbled before starting to flip through the yellowish pages.

He noticed it was a gothic manuscript featuring full-page illuminations in tempera paint and gold leaf. A beautiful work, he thought. Dewdrop stopped when he recognized the circled dot symbol. It was written in the page that the sign was used to primarily summon fire fiends, although it was possible for them to also be in the company of another demon of different element.

Dewdrop digested the information and came to the conclusion that the leader was actually a fire ghoul and their quarrel actually started making sense since fire ghouls usually wouldn’t get along. He snorted and shook his head in disappointment for not being able to tell sooner.

He looked for another book, a more recent one, because he wanted to know more about his invocation and the sigil of Baphomet was not that old. After a little more research he found a book with black leather cover with the title  _ Invocation of Ghouls _ and he quickly found the sigil. It was actually used to summon up to five ghouls of different elements at once, but the downside was that it was a painful method for the fiends, to which Dewdrop could only agree. This invocation was also common for summoning ghouls randomly or the ones of hybrid elements, a detail that caught his attention since he himself was related to both water and fire.

Interesting at the least.

Unfortunately he didn’t find any way to ease the side effects. He sighed in defeat; in the end his research was kind of useless. That’s why he wasn’t a big fan of books anyway.

Just when he was collecting the books to place them back on the shelves, a voice called for him. “Dewdrop?” It was Breeze. She held two books in one hand. “What a surprise to see you here!” The ghoulette showed a warm smile.

“Uh, yeah, not my comfort zone.” He discreetly tried to hide the books behind him, but it no use.

“Oh, you were reading about invocations? Those books are very interesting.” She pointed at his hand and Dewdrop bit his lower lip in frustration. “I didn’t know you were interested in the subject.”

“I’m not, I was just-”

“Blizzard loves to learn summoning spells, you know? Maybe you two could share some knowledge one of these days, I’m sure she’d be excited to talk about this with someone else.”

“Nice.” He nodded and went silent, he didn’t know exactly what to say and Breeze acted like she was entertained by their brief interaction.

“Aether was looking for you at breakfast.” She said and Dewdrop felt his heart clenching.

“Oh, I- I’m going to meet with him soon, but thanks for letting me know.”

The ghoulette tilted her head, “You okay? You look too calm.”

“Calm?” He felt everything but calm during the past 24 hours.

“Yeah, what happened to the energetic shithead who loves to vex us?” She chuckled and lightly punched him on the shoulder.

“Sorry,” he gave a tired smile. “I have this huge headache annoying me since yesterday and I couldn’t sleep well, that’s all.” It was not a complete lie though.

“I see. Well, maybe you should pay Earth a visit, I know he grows every sort of medicinal plants in his greenhouse.” Breeze beamed at Dewdrop one last time before waving him goodbye.

***

“Good morning, sunshine.” Aether greeted him with a beautiful smile and hugged the smaller ghoul, pressing Dewdrop’s head against his soft chest.

Dewdrop took a deep breath and enjoyed Aether’s warm, tight hug. It felt so good, he felt so safe. Aether felt like home for Dewdrop. He wished for them to stay like that forever but without any secrets to ruin their bond. He wanted to spill out the truth and ask for Aether’s help, but he didn’t dare involve his beloved in that mess; it was something he had to figure a way out of by himself.

“Morning.” Dewdrop quietly replied and tried to nuzzle Aether’s neck, but the mask wouldn’t allow him to do much. The big ghoul chuckled.

“Why didn’t I see you at breakfast earlier?”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“C’mon, you can’t simply skip a meal.” Aether took him by the hand and led Dewdrop to the kitchen. The fire ghoul knew it would be useless to argue against his boyfriend, so he just sighed and followed him.

When they arrived there they found Earth sitting by the counter with his upper half collapsed over it and snoring loudly. “He can really sleep anywhere, can’t he?” Aether noted and Dewdrop muffled a laugh. If he were feeling at his best he’d probably prank the poor sleepy ghoul, but he decided he’d leave him be for now.

“That’s why his back is all fucked up.” The fire ghoul pointed at Earth’s bad posture with his body bent all over the counter. “Should we wake him up so he can go back to his bedroom?”

“Hm, I’m not sure, but it’d probably be the best-” Aether couldn’t finish his sentence.

“A ghoul cannot nap in peace?” Earth said, his voice was husky and low.

“Sorry for disturbing you.” Aether honestly apologized.

The drummer slowly stretched his limbs and neck while yawning. Dewdrop was actually amazed by how long and slender the ghoul’s body was; a playful thought passed his mind every now and then as he imagined that Earth must have been a tree in another life. “It’s fine.” The tall ghoul covered his mouth with a hand to hold back another yawn. “What are you two up to?”

“Dew has not had breakfast yet, so I’m going to prepare something for him.”

“Are you?” The fire ghoul arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah…?”

“I was just planning to eat anything from the fridge, I won’t give you trouble.” He headed at the refrigerator, opened it and inspected the inside. There was some old milk, leftover pizza stored since Satan knows when, some weird looking grub, open cans of soda… Nothing actually appetizing.

“No way. I won’t let you eat junk today.” Aether protested and closed the fridge’s door before Dewdrop could actually grab something from its inside.

“But-”

“Shh.” The big ghoul placed a finger over Dewdrop’s lips. “Let me take care of you.” He smiled.

“Cute. May I join in?” Earth asked and the other ghouls glanced at him surprised by his words.

“I mean, sure…? Why not?” The fire ghoul shrugged. He truly had no reason to deny the drummer’s sudden request - after all polyamory and open relationships were pretty normal between ghouls - he was just caught by surprise. Besides, maybe this could be a good chance to bond with Earth, who was a retiring sort of ghoul.

“I don’t see a problem either.” Aether agreed.

There was a moment of silence between them that was becoming uncomfortable and Dewdrop could notice Earth’s wide green eyes looking from him to Aether. “Uh… I was… I was actually referring to helping with the breakfast.” The drummer shyly made himself clear.

“Oh.” Both Aether and Dewdrop exchanged confused looks and failed to hold back a laugh. “Of course you can help.” Aether approached the drummer and squeezed his shoulder.

“But our other answer remains valid.” Teasingly, Dewdrop purred and winked at Earth, who gulped and looked away from the small ghoul, clearly bashful.

“So, what about pancakes?” Aether asked.

“Sounds good to me.” The fire ghoul agreed.

“Vegan pancakes, right?” Earth spoke.

“What? No!” Dewdrop protested.

“Yes, vegan pancakes are perfect. Thanks, Earth.” And the other guitarist looked for the ingredients into the cabinet.

“Why? It’s  _ my _ breakfast, I should have the right to at least tell what I don’t want to eat.” The ghouls simply ignored Dewdrop’s complaints.

“I’m gonna prepare a vegan banana smoothie.” Earth got up from his seat and joined Aether in the search for ingredients.

“Hey, don’t pretend you’re not listening to me!”

Dewdrop hated being ignored and the other ghouls were really pissing him off at that moment, but he knew he’d not win against them. So he sighed in defeat and waited by the counter while watching the other two preparing his meal.

But… since they’d not let him eat his junk food, maybe he could take a playful revenge. “Earth, let me help you with the smoothie.” Dewdrop gently offered with a smirk on his face, but only Aether knew him enough to tell that the fire ghoul had something dirty in mind. The big ghoul didn’t intervene though.

Earth gladly handed him a banana as he occupied himself sorting some nuts. What he didn’t expect was to find out Dewdrop actually  _ eating _ the fruit. “You were supposed to chop it, Dew-” But the drummer gasped and went silent when he noticed that the fire ghoul was using his forked tongue to lick the sides of the banana, also revealing his barbell piercing playing with it. Dewdrop would eventually wrap his lips around the fruit and suck its whole length while muffling a moan.

And he did all of that with his eyes locked on Earth’s.

The tall ghoul watched everything dumbfounded, he definitely wasn’t aware of Dewdrop’s lewd behaviour. The guitarist smiled smugly and blew the tip of the banana before biting it.

“Yes, he’s like that most of the time.” Aether broke the silence and chuckled at Earth’s astonishment.

“I-I...” He was still speechless.

“Here’s your banana.” Dewdrop decided to quit teasing and actually sliced another banana.

They seriously resumed preparing the breakfast once and for all. Aether made nice-looking pancakes topped with strawberries and maple syrup and Earth served the banana smoothie. Despite the good look of the food, Dewdrop was still reluctant to try them out, but he had no choice. Honestly, it’d be too rude of him to dismiss the effort of the ghouls.

Dewdrop took a bite of the pancakes and he was surprised with how delicious they were. He hummed in delight and proceeded to take a sip from the smoothie, which tasted really good too.

“I can’t believe you two are spoiling me.” The fire ghoul joked and glanced up at the ghoul.

“Oh, but you shouldn’t get used to it.” Aether crossed his arms and smirked.

“I hope this helps you to feel better.” Earth mumbled between an yawn.

“To feel better?” Dewdrop tilted his head in confusion.

“You’re tough, we get it, Dew. But you look so tired since yesterday… Just don’t neglect yourself, okay?” The other guitarist said in a concerned tone.

“Breeze told me about your headache and lack of sleep.” The drummer confessed.

“She what?”

Since when were ghouls bad at keeping a low profile?

“Anyways,” Earth stretched his limbs. “I’m gonna take a nap somewhere no one will find me.” He walked towards the exit of the kitchen, but stopped on his way when Dewdrop called him.

“Earth, thank you.”

The drummer looked over his shoulder and flashed him a shy smile before leaving the place.

“Aw, you’re so cute when you properly thank others.” Aether mocked the fire ghoul who growled back at him but laughed after all.

“Do you expect me to thank you too?”

“Well, you know the best ways to do so.” Aether hinted at him.

Dewdrop was glad he was able to put away the thoughts about the mission. He was truly thankful for that little, yet cozy, time he spent with Aether and Earth, who happened to be a surprising addition.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know your thoughts about the chapter! I hope you enjoyed the reading so far <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dewdrop enjoys his little break from the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A sexy chapter, finally! 
> 
> As always, I'd like to thank @mercyfull and @copias_gloves for their support and beta work <3

“Have you ever considered cutting your hair?” Aether asked almost in a whisper as he ran his fingers through Dewdrop’s blonde locks.

“Hell, no! I like it the way it is.” The fire ghoul promptly retorted, sounding offended.

“I love your hair too, I was just asking out of curiosity.” The big ghoul assured him with a smile.

The band ghouls had the day off, so they were dispersed through the Abbey busy in their own activities. Aether had convinced Dewdrop that they should enjoy their moment alone and decided to go to his bedroom. The tall ghoul was laying on his back and Dewdrop laid on his side, his head resting on Aether’s chest and with their legs intertwined. Their masks and clothes were all scattered on the floor and only a thin sheet covered their lower halves.

They went silent for a moment, Dewdrop lightly stroking the other ghoul’s torso with his fingertips, observing his chest going up and down as Aether breathed. He took his time to pay attention to his boyfriend's heartbeat too, memorizing its tempo.

Being with Aether was relaxing and put Dewdrop’s mind at rest. The quintessence ghoul had always been kind to him since the first time they properly met at the rehearsal room after spending a short time being apprentices to the band. Aether was playing around with an acoustic guitar, humming a song which Dewdrop coincidentally knew, what led him to discreetly jam along with his bass.

He was used to people being hostile to him, but Dewdrop thought that maybe that interaction would be worth a shot since he could feel a soothing aura emanating from the other ghoul. However, Aether immediately stopped playing and looked in his direction. Dewdrop felt like he was being an annoyance once again and was just about to drop the instrument. But he was surprised when he noticed the other smiling, judging by the way Aether’s eyes crinkled. It should have been a huge smile, by the way. The ghoul resumed playing and waited for Dewdrop to join him again.

That was the beginning of their friendship, which later turned into something more. Something that Dewdrop was very grateful for and never imagined that he could experience, after all who in their right mind would ever want to bond with a problematic fire ghoul?

Well, Aether did and taught him many things in the process.

Remembering all of that brought a lump in Dewdrop’s throat. He felt bad for lying, but he didn’t want to go back to hell… Did he already come up with a plan to solve the mission problem? No, he didn’t. And he kept wasting time.

Great. Now he was scolding himself mentally for comparing his time with Aether to a waste. How ungrateful of him. He frowned and sighed.

“Is everything alright?” Aether gently pushed a lock of hair away from Dewdrop’s face, revealing light, almost imperceptible freckles on his forehead, cheeks and nose. “You’re too quiet.”

“I’m fine.” The fire ghoul suddenly rolled up on top of Aether, straddling him and placing both hands beside the ghoul’s head. Dewdrop flashed a smile and ducked his head down to plant a kiss on Aether’s lips. “To be honest I feel great.”

The ghoul under him reached a hand to hold the back of Dewdrop’s neck, his thumb caressing his pulse point. “I love it when you smile.”

“Shut up.” And the fire ghoul cupped Aether’s face with both hands and gave him a passionate kiss on the lips, holding for a few seconds before pulling away to look him in the eyes. The big ghoul chuckled and threw his weight to the side, causing them to change positions.

He peppered Dewdrop’s face with quick kisses and slid his moist lips down the small ghoul’s body, who gasped in delight, since his skin was still sensitive following their previous activity. He felt his hairs bristling and he wriggled a bit when Aether decided to playfully stroke his side, feeling the bump of Dewdrop’s ribs under his fingertips.

Aether placed a kiss to the fire ghoul’s navel and hip bones before crawling backwards as he dragged his lips down Dewdrop’s inner thigh. “Are you trying to get me in the mood again?” He giggled and Aether looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Okay, then I will stop now.” He promptly moved to Dewdrop’s side and wrapped his arms around his thin frame.

“You shouldn’t have stopped!” The small ghoul protested, disappointed.

“Too late.” Aether said and placed a kiss on the other’s forehead.

Dewdrop growled in frustration and nuzzled his face into the crook of Aether’s neck, his breath tickling the ghoul’s skin. He slipped one hand up and down his boyfriend’s stomach and gently squeezed it, causing Aether to purr.

“Are you going to stay the night?” The big ghoul asked, soothing Dewdrop’s hair.

The fire ghoul would love to stay, but he couldn’t forget that Imperator had demanded for the mission ghouls to meet her at the dungeons again the next morning. “If I don’t stay, will you long for me even more?”

“Of course!”

“Okay.” Dewdrop pecked Aether’s neck before getting up from the bed. “See you tomorrow then.”

“What are you doing?” The quintessence ghoul sat up on the mattress and observed confused as Dewdrop collected his clothes from the floor.

“Next time will be wilder if you’re missing me.” He teasingly blew a kiss in the ghoul’s direction as he got dressed.

“Dew, don’t be mean!” He frowned and whined, clearly upset.

“Too late.” Dewdrop headed towards the bed and kissed Aether’s forehead, just like the ghoul had done to him moments ago. “I’m just reciprocating.” He smirked and winked at Aether, who shook his head in disapproval.

“Completely uncalled for.”

“I love you too. See you tomorrow.” Giggling, he exited the bedroom leaving a frustrated Aether behind.

***

The hours he spent with Aether were the best he had in the past days and he wanted to prolong the feeling, but unfortunately it’d have to be postponed.

It was already quarter to midnight when Dewdrop decided to go to the kitchen to fill a glass of water before going to bed. He was dressed in black flannel pants and a short sleeve shirt. The place was quiet and he believed to be the only one there.

The guitarist drank the water and left the kitchen, but a scent coming from the common living room caught his attention. He curiously sniffed the air and followed the fragrance. It was sweet, kind of addictive and it was mixed with the same smell Dewdrop detected at the rehearsal room on the day before.

He found Water sitting cross-legged on the couch, the only light in the room came from a lamp beside the ghoul and the moonlight passing through the windows. The bassist, who was reading a book, wore sleep trousers and loose long sleeves that exposed his collarbones. He was wearing his mask without the balaclava, revealing the pale skin of his neck and his shoulder-length dark hair. He soon noticed the presence of the fire ghoul and looked up at him.

“Uh, hi!” He bashfully greeted the other, bringing the book up close to his face almost as an instinctive move.

Dewdrop gingerly stepped towards Water, the scent was now stronger and he felt his heart began to race. Tilting his head, he noticed the timid body language of the other ghoul.

Adorable.

“What are you reading?”

“Frankenstein! Breeze lent it to me. I’m enjoying it so far.” Water replied excited. “What about you?”

“I came down for a glass of water.”

“Hm… I see. Are you going back to your room now?” The fire ghoul caught a hint of expectation in Water’s words.

“Not anymore.” He sat beside the ghoul, blue eyes locked on green ones.

They went silent for a few moments. Water gave up on reading the book and placed it on top of the end table. Dewdrop couldn’t resist the urge to take one of the bassist’s hand and carefully lower the sleeve to expose the wrist before inhaling the sweet scent emanating from the skin. “Why do you smell so good?” With closed eyes he nuzzled the wrist, but the mask prevent him from doing it properly.

“Blizzard gifted me with a perfume.” The ghoul replied in a whisper, his other hand holding tightly at the fabric on the side of his leg.

“But there’s something more.” The guitarist pulled Water closer and sniffed his neck. “Water… you...” He muttered, bewitched by the smell that was driving him crazy.

The bassist tugged on Dewdrop’s shirt, who looked up and saw Water nodding. The ghoul was experiencing the heat off season, just like Dewdrop had suspected. The scent mixed with the perfume was pure pheromone.

Water decided to remove his mask, revealing his flushed cheeks. A lock of his wavy hair fell in front of one of his eyes before he clumsily tried to put it behind his ear, but the rebel lock insisted in covering his eye. He rested both of his hands on his lap and bit on his bottom lip.

Dewdrop also took off his mask. It was not their first time doing that, they’d been together casually and were already comfortable around each other. His blonde hair fell on his shoulders and Water reached out to stroke it, but the fire ghoul didn’t intend to waste time and decided to attack the other’s neck, nuzzling him and wrapping his arms around Water’s waist, pulling him closer so he was straddling Dewdrop’s lap.

The guitarist soon slid his tongue out to lick at Water’s pulse point, feeling the fast beats. He dragged one hand under the ghoul’s shirt, nails scratching thin lines up on the skin of Water’s back, who let out a soft moan and instinctively tightened the embrace around Dewdrop’s neck.

The fire ghoul formed his mouth into an O-shape and pressed his lips on the skin at the base of Water’s neck, sucking hard on it. The bassist pressed his body against Dewdrop’s when the guitarist licked on the same spot before sucking on it again.

Leading a hand to hold the back of Water’s neck, the small ghoul started rubbing his face against the other’s while purring. He then placed a kiss on the corner of Water’s mouth, making the ghoul lean in in search of more contact. Dewdrop teasingly moved in almost all the way to lock their mouths together, but he stopped just to hear Water growling in frustration and taking the step himself.

The ghoul tried to thrust his tongue into Dewdrop’s mouth, who chuckled at the eagerness of the bassist. “Slow down, tiger.” He joked before capturing Water’s bottom lip and sucking on it. The fire ghoul gave him a soft, slow kiss, then moved the split tip of his tongue into the other’s mouth and Water mimicked him, moving the soft flesh in a circular motion.

Dewdrop took one of the bassist’s hands and guided it to the edge of his own shirt, making Water’s fingers slip under the fabric as a sign to let the ghoul continue from there if he wanted. And Water complied. While they shared a sloppy kiss, breathing hot into each other’s mouth, the bassist dragged his hand up Dewdrop’s torso and hummed in amazement when he felt the metal of one of the guitarist’s piercings, playfully pulling it.

“You’re such a good kisser.” The small ghoul breathily whispered into Water’s ear, taking the opportunity to nibble on his earlobe. 

He placed a hand over the bassist’s thigh and dragged it up to caress the bulge in his pants, causing Water to wriggle under the touch. “Let me suck you, will you?” Dewdrop asked.

Water gasped and quickly nodded. Dewdrop pushed the ghoul back so he’d be laying down with his head resting on the sofa arm. The fire ghoul lifted Water’s shirt up halfway and kissed his stomach as his hands were occupied dragging the bassist’s trousers down, freeing his erection.

Smirking, Dewdrop smeared the pre-cum down Water’s cock before wrapping his fingers around the base, slowly stroking it as he lowered his head to put the tip into his mouth. The fire ghoul worked each side of his tongue up and down Water’s frenulum, using the ball of his piercing to apply a gentle flicking motion to it. That resulted in a loud gasp from Water, who arched his back in response to the stimulation. Dewdrop kept flicking at the frenulum side to side and in circles for some time until pulled away.

“Don’t stop, please.” The bassist whined and propped on his elbows, now able to watch the fire ghoul while he placed wet kisses to his length, but Dewdrop stopped again.

“Don’t worry, I’m just working my way to make you cum hard in my mouth.”      He smiled satisfied when he saw the other ghoul’s jaw dropping, speechless.

Still keeping eye contact, the guitarist gave a long lick from the base to the tip of Water’s cock, leaving paths of saliva and blowing the wet patches, creating a cooling sensation and making the other ghoul close his eyes and moan.

The fire ghoul finally decided to dive in, the hand around the base moving up and down in time with the movements of his mouth while the fingers of his other hand were occupied caressing Water’s testicles. Dewdrop moaned, sending amazing vibrations through the shaft in his mouth, causing the bassist to shiver and buck his hips to meet the back of the guitarist’s throat.

Water reached for Dewdrop’s head, fiercely tugging on his hair. The small ghoul was amused by how eager and impatient the other was that night. After some time keeping a regular rhythm bobbing his head up and down, Dewdrop concentrated on the tip again, giving it a few shallow sucks before a deeper one and repeated it, but decreasing the amount of shallow sucks and increasing the deep ones every time. That seemed to send Water closer to the edge since his thrusts were now more intense and faster.

“Dewdrop...” He said, panting. “I’m gonna… Ugh.”

Only a few more sucks were necessary until the water ghoul came hard and hot into Dewdrop’s mouth, just as the guitarist had promised earlier, but with a bonus of a loud moan from Water. Dewdrop pulled back, swallowing the cum as he helped the bassist drive out his orgasm, stroking his cock.

Water collapsed back on the couch, resting a forearm over his forehead, his breath uneven. Dewdrop lifted the bassist’s trousers up and crawled up on top of him, caressing his face and carefully moving a lock of hair dampened in sweat away from Water’s eye. He cupped the other’s face and gave with a deep kiss, so the ghoul would be able to taste himself too.

“You’re so good, Water...” Dewdrop whispered between kisses. “All of you. Your taste, your mouth, your smell...”

Water silently slid his hand between their bodies when he felt Dewdrop’s hard-on poking his thigh. The fire ghoul was expecting to take care of his erection on his own, but knowing that the bassist was willing to give him a hand was a pleasant surprise that he gladly accepted.

They shifted positions on the large sofa so they’d be laying on their side facing each other. Water lowered Dewdrop’s pants down his knees and traced his fingers up on the other’s thigh until he reached his dick, gently caressing it as he nuzzled Dewdrop’s shoulder when he heard him groaning.

The bassist touched the pre-cum with a fingertip, tracing around the head and spreading the clear fluid across the length. Water then started moving his hand up and down applying light pressure, his thumb rubbing over and back on the head of the fire ghoul’s cock.

Even though Dewdrop appreciated the way Water was softly handling him, the guitarist wrapped one hand around the ghoul’s, increasing the pace of the strokes. “Faster?” Water asked, his voice muffled by the fabric of Dewdrop’s shirt.

“Please.” And the fire ghoul released the other’s hand, resting his own on Water’s hips under his shirt, so he could feel his skin.

The bassist promptly obeyed and it didn’t take long for Dewdrop to let out quiet moans as he breathed erratically and thrust into Water’s hand. He came not long after, his mouth open, eyes closed and nails digging hard into the flesh of the other’s hips, who squeaked in response.

When Dewdrop finished releasing his load Water curiously brought his hand up to check it and the fire ghoul held loosely on his wrist, leaning forward to slowly lick the bassist’s palm and fingers, helping clean the mess. Water watched him dumbfounded.

They stayed like that, facing each other and waiting for their bodies to cool down. Dewdrop occasionally brushing his lips over Water’s while the other ghoul played with a lock of his hair.

“That felt great, Water. You did really good.”

The bassist was blushing, a shy smile on his lips. “Dewdrop,” he said. “Do you want to join Multi and I tonight?”

“Well, I’d love to… But maybe another time.” He sadly refused, the subject of the mission returning to his mind as the wave of pleasure finally was over.

Water looked disappointed, but nodded. “It’s fine.”

A few minutes later they got up from the sofa and went back to their rooms. Despite knowing that the concern would be back again at the next morning, Dewdrop felt like he at least had been able to enjoy his day off.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a short chapter, but the next one is way longer and with more sexy moments hehe I'm looking forward to post the next one, until then I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know your thoughts! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission becomes more serious and out of Dewdrop's control, so he tries to seek some way to let out all the frustration consuming him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of my favourite chapters and I was looking forward to post it. I hope you enjoy it! Once again thanks to @copias_gloves and @mercyfull for the constant support and beta work!

## 

“ Good morning, captive.” Imperator sardonically greeted the air ghoul, who faintly growled back at her.

The room was humid and stinking, a strong mix of mold, blood and excreta lingering in the air. A couple of rats ran past Sister towards a hole in the wall as the woman approached the wounded ghoul, still tied up at the exact location he had been left two days ago.

Clenching his fists, Dewdrop couldn’t help feeling disgusted and distressed by the whole scenario. He knew the ghoul had not eaten or been hydrated since that night and the wound in the stomach was still open. He was going to die if he didn’t receive proper care, and that was exactly what Imperator was aiming for. A slow, painful death. How sadistic.

Sister Imperator crouched in front of the ghoul, eyeing him closely. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Hurt?” No response.

She looked over her shoulder and gave a sign to the mission leader, who approached the captive and abruptly kicked him in the guts. The ghoul wriggled as he cried in pain.

“ You know, there’s still hope for you.” Sister smoothly said. “If you tell me where your friends are and what they plan to do I will make sure to spare you.”

That couldn’t be true. Dewdrop didn’t believe a word that the woman said and it only helped to feed the hatred he already felt for her.

“ You probably won’t believe me at this point, but I’m just doing my job, ghoul. I need to get rid of anyone who disturbs the church’s work. You know this because you’d been with us for a long time.” She placed a sympathetic hand on the air ghoul’s shoulder, but he weakly shook his head.

Imperator sighed and stood up, smoothing her skirt before spinning on her heels to face the other six mission ghouls. She nodded to one of them, who had a bucket in one hand. Dewdrop watched as the ghoul stepped closer to the fugitive, placed the bucket at his side and took a steel cup filled with water from the inside, bringing it closer to the other’s mouth.

The prisoner glanced at the cup and then at the mission ghoul before him, parting his chapped lips to desperately drink the water, almost choking in the process.

“ See?” Imperator grinned. “If you cooperate you’ll be fed too. Do we have a deal?”

After drinking the water, the ghoul nodded and everyone waited for him to say something.

 

***

 

Once again they’d have to proceed with the mission after midnight, since it was a more careful way to keep a low profile. This way the absence of the mission ghouls, especially Dewdrop, would not be easily noticed. At least that’s how Sister Imperator thought, but it was a bother for the guitarist, since he was usually involved in night activities with other band ghouls. He was afraid to raise suspicions.

Dewdrop was heading to the rehearsal room and recalling what happened during that morning. The air ghoul had revealed the whereabouts of the other fugitives and Sister actually kept her word regarding the food. Her next promise was that after confirming the veracity of the ghoul’s words, his wounds would be taken care of.

The guitarist was not sure if the woman would stick to the promise again, she just wanted to take advantage of the captive’s deplorable condition to extract the information she needs. But Dewdrop was dispensed from the mission’s affairs until midnight. He’d better be more attentive during the rehearsal so he’d not screw up again.

He decided to stop by the greenhouse to check if Earth was still there. His eyes scanned the whole place and there was no sign of the drummer. He was just about to leave when he heard a quiet noise coming from behind one of the rows of potted plants before him. As the fire ghoul approached the source of the sound he realized that it sounded more like a snore, which wouldn’t be a stretch at all considering Earth’s sleep habits.

Just as he’d suspected, Dewdrop found the taller ghoul taking a nap while sitting on the ground with his back resting against the glass that surrounded the greenhouse. The guitarist muffled a laugh and bent down to place a hand on Earth’s shoulder, gently shaking him.

“ Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

Earth simply grunted and leaned his face in the direction of Dewdrop’s hand, rubbing the cheek of his mask against it, but still sleeping. “You need to wake up, c’mon.” The fire ghoul said again and waited for the other’s eyelids to open, noticing light eyelashes fluttering as the drummer’s green eyes finally opened. That was probably the closest he’d been to Earth and when he noticed the light colour of his eyelashes he wondered if the tall ghoul was a blonde like him.

“ Dewdrop?” Earth asked while he stretched his limbs and yawned. “What are you doing in here?”

“ We have practice today, dude. Have you forgotten about it?”

“ Yeah, but later.” Earth brought a hand up in an instinctive move to rub at his eyes, but unfortunately the mask served as a barrier. The ghoul looked confused for a second before shaking his head in realization.

“ Nope, it begins in ten minutes.”

“ What?! But I came here to take a nap immediately after breakfast.”

“ Earth, it’s ten to one. You skipped lunch.” Dewdrop chuckled and patted the ghoul on the chest before straightening his posture and offering a hand to help the drummer to get on his feet.

“ Damn…” He whispered as he brushed the dirt off his trousers.

“ Maybe you should grab a fruit before we go. I don’t want to see you passing out during the rehearsal.”

Earth caught a hint of concern in Dewdrop’s tone and glanced at him. “Aw… You’re worrying about me?” The fire ghoul rolled his eyes and the drummer chuckled, amused.

“ Shut up and hurry up! We’re gonna be late and I’d hate to see Multi arriving before me. I don’t want to give him reason to taunt me even more than he already does.”

“ It’s so easy to get you irritated.” Earth purposely stated, which caused Dewdrop to snort and attempt to punch him on the arm, but the drummer caught his fist, laughing.

“ Told you to shut up!” He retreated his hand and walked towards the exit. “Let’s go now or I’ll leave you behind.” Dewdrop said, huffy.

Earth quit joking and grabbed an apple from a tree on his way to the door where the guitarist impatiently waited for him, a foot tapping on the floor and arms crossed.

“ Hey,” the drummer called Dewdrop before going up a flight of stairs. “Why did you come to see me?”

The question caught the smaller ghoul by surprise. He glanced up at Earth, but looked away when he noticed the other ghoul carefully lifting his mask a little to bite on the fruit. “Well, because I wanted to.” He shrugged. “Why? Let me know if you don’t want me to bother you.”

“ Eh, you don’t bother me. I was just asking.” He munched the apple.

“ Okay then.”

Awkward bonding moment, thought Dewdrop while trying to prevent a silly smile forming on his face.

 

***

 

Midnight. Pentacles. Sickness. The fire ghoul hoped he’d not suffer the same side effects from the first night, but he was so wrong. He wondered how many times they’d still have to be summoned before the end of the mission. The difference is that this time it was raining and Dewdrop had to bear the annoying feeling of his clothes clinging to his skin.

The ghouls were at the location the air ghoul had revealed during the morning: a forest nowhere close to the Abbey. Hiding behind trees, they observed an old shack in the distance. “According to what the scum said, the others had gone to that shack.” The leader motioned with his head towards the place. “Let’s use the rain in our favour to approach them without being easily noticed. But we need to be quick! Let’s distract them and break into the place through the windows.”

Nodding, the ghouls cautiously reached the shack, hiding under the windows and waiting for a sign from the leader. Meanwhile Dewdrop’s heart was pounding as he realized how predatorily he was acting at the moment, surrounding a prey, recalling his hunts in hell.

He didn’t want to be there.

They listened to the voices coming from inside the shack. One, two, three.... Four different voices.

“ It’s been two nights now and no sign of him...” One of the fugitives said.

The leader signaled to one of the mission ghouls and then pointed towards the roof, to which the ghoul assented and promptly climbed the small shack, being careful enough not to make noises louder than the rain.

Already crouched on top of the roof, the ghoul leaned down and knocked at the door in a very specific way, just like the air ghoul had told them. They heard someone sighing in relief and listened closely to the eager steps approaching the door.

When it was finally open, the ghoul on the top jumped over the ghoul below him at the same time that his companions broke into the shack through the windows. Snarling, they started a fight with the ghouls, five against four. Or maybe they were four against four, because Dewdrop was stuck in place facing the whole scene and not having the courage to attack anyone.

But everything happened too fast and when he least expected, a fugitive came in his direction raising a knife to stab him. Widening his eyes, Dewdrop tried to stop the hand holding the knife, but his hand was cut on the way, a sharp pain spreading from a deep wound. He yelped, pressing the bleeding cut with his other hand as he heard the aggressor whispering “You...”

Dewdrop looked up at the ghoul and instantly recognized his eyes. His acquaintance, the earth ghoul. Petrified, what he feared the most came to happen, unfortunately. Dewdrop didn’t want to confront the ghoul, but he had always known it was inevitable.

However, he didn’t have much time to think, he soon heard the leader shouting at him. “CATCH HIM!” But the earth ghoul was faster and shoved Dewdrop aside as he escaped through the window.

The fire ghoul was slow to digest everything that was happening at the moment. He glanced at the rain invading the shack through the open windows, then to the pile of ghouls stabbing each other, destroying masks, tearing clothes apart.

He definitely didn’t miss the mess that was hell.

Dewdrop didn’t know what exactly happened a few moments later, but he saw another ghoul running away through a window before the leader came in his direction and aggressively lifted him by the collar.

“ WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO? WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM?!”

The guitarist didn’t know what to say, but he hated the way he was being treated. He tried to get free from the leader’s hold, but his injured hand wasn’t being very helpful at the moment.

“ You FUCKED UP everything!” He screamed as he tossed Dewdrop away. “Two of them escaped and it’s YOUR fault!” The leader intimidatingly held a finger in front of the nose of the guitarist’s mask.

“ Stay away from me.” Dewdrop muttered between gritted teeth, breathing heavily, clenching his fists and invoking all of his self control not to kill the ghoul. Wide-eyed, they stared at each other for a few seconds before one of the mission ghouls apprehensively interrupted them.

“ They’re dead.” He announced.

Dewdrop felt a shiver down his spine and looked in the direction of the two bodies scattered on the floor, hideously mutilated.

“ Good, just like Imperator ordered us to. But now we have more work to do because a certain fragile band ghoul couldn’t fight for his life.”

_ Don’t listen to him, don’t listen to him, don’t listen to him. _ Dewdrop repeated in his mind as a mantra. He knew that being a band ghoul wouldn’t make someone weaker or stronger, it was a duty that didn’t affect their strength. He just… chose to behave differently. He wasn’t a hypocrite, he admittedly still enjoyed violence to an extent, but not like that. Not hunting and killing other ghouls. He wasn’t interested in that.

 

***

 

“ I see.” Sister Imperator dully said as she scanned the mission ghouls with her eyes. “I won’t lie. I’m not fully pleased by the outcome of tonight’s action, but I hope next time will be definitive.”

“ The fault lies on the band ghoul, Sister.” The leader noted and Dewdrop stared daggers at him. “All of these years in a band softened him and if it were not for him we would have concluded the mission tonight.”

“ I’m sure he won’t let it happen again, right, ghoul?” Faking sympathy, the woman beamed in his direction.

“ I won’t.” Dewdrop replied what she wanted to hear.

“ Good call. After all, you don’t want to be sent back to hell.”

 

***

 

After being dispensed for the rest of the night, Dewdrop hurried to the dorms. He just wanted to put on some warm, dry clothes and shut off his mind for the next few hours, but he was stopped on his way by Multi, who happened to be up at the hour and wandering the corridors.

“ Oh, wow! Did you jump in the pool with all your clothes, dude? Where have you been?” The tall ghoul asked, confused.

“ Shut the fuck up. Don’t ask questions and don’t tell anyone about me otherwise I’ll choke you to death!” Dewdrop threatened him as he stormed away to his room, but Multi held his wrist.

“ How kinky. I like it.”

“ Seriously, I’m not kidding. Leave me alone.” He pulled his hand free from the other’s grip and kept walking.

Dewdrop only took a few steps before Multi reached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Dew… You’re bleeding.” He took the injured guitarist’s hand to examine closer. “Care to tell me what’s going on?”

“ Fuck.”

He didn’t expect to be confronted so soon. He wasn’t in his right mind to make up a convincing excuse, he couldn’t think straight. Dewdrop just wanted to get rid of his anger, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to destroy his room without being heard.

“ Hey, let me help you.” Multi’s voice was soothing, but he sounded genuinely worried.

Dewdrop stared at him for a few seconds, still not knowing what to say. On the other hand, maybe Multi could be helpful since he was a fire ghoul too. Perhaps he would be able to understand how the guitarist felt without actually telling him the whole truth.

The small ghoul took a deep breath to calm himself a bit and nodded.

“ Good. Come with me.” Multi took him by the wrist and led him to his room.

Dewdrop entered the space, wrapping his arms around himself to keep warm since his clothes were still wet. Multi locked the door and looked in the direction of the guitarist as he removed his mask. “Go take a hot shower, I have something that might be helpful for your wound, which is  _ deep _ , you know?”

“ Whatever.” Dewdrop shook his head and took off his mask, violently flinging it across the room and not even paying attention to where it landed. He started undressing on his way to the bathroom, freeing his skin from the soaked clothes and kicking them aside. “I’m gonna wreck your bathroom, by the way.”

“ I know you’re mad right now but-”

Multi didn’t even finish his sentence when Dewdrop shut the door and immediately punched the mirror in front of him, shattering the glass, his reflection now distorted into many pieces.

Placing both hands on the edges of the sink, the fire ghoul closed his eyes and took a deep, deep breath. He glanced at his injured hand, now with some new cuts on his knuckles, and sighed loudly.

“ What a fucking nightmare.”

The ghoul stepped into the shower stall, turning on the hot water and feeling the pain in his hand increase. He observed the blood being washed away from his injuries and wondered how he got to this point. When would all of that be over? He didn’t want to accept, but the truth was that he was trapped and didn’t know how to get out.

And now he had been seen by Multi, who surely would flood him with questions. What would Dewdrop tell him? Unfortunately he had just gotten another ghoul involved in his already bad situation, even if indirectly.

_ What to do? What to do? What to do? _

The guitarist was in need of help, that he couldn’t deny. His secret was getting too big to be kept in silence, what if he could tell Multi? No. Why? If Dewdrop were to tell anyone about what has been tormenting him, he’d tell Aether first. That’d only be fair, they didn’t lie to one another, there were no secrets between them and Aether probably would know a way out of it.

No… He couldn’t tell Aether because then he’d get worried and overprotective, he’d try to help Dew and get harmed in the process. Dewdrop would hate to be the reason for Aether to get hurt. It was too risky.

Maybe Multi could serve as some sort of indirect help, there was no need for him to know the details though.

Maybe…

But what if Sister Imperator found out about it? The fire ghoul wondered how she would be able to find out if he’d told someone about the mission. Could it be possible for her to have installed cameras or listening devices in their rooms? Was that a paranoid thought? Could that be possible? What if she used some unknown spell? There was no way to know.

Dewdrop could start to feel his brain fuming, the feeling of powerlessness being uncommon for him.

He decided to send those thoughts to the back of his mind for a few minutes, just enough for him to finish his shower. He tried to relax under the hot water but it was useless, he still could feel his muscles all tense. Sighing, he turned off the tap and almost immediately heard a knock on the door before Multi entered the bathroom with a towel and a change of clothes in hands.

“ Here.” He gave the pieces to Dewdrop and noticed the broken mirror, his face unreadable. “Okay, you wrecked it.” The ghoul nodded to himself and left the bathroom.

Dewdrop dried his body and hair and dressed in the clothes, a pair of black sleep trousers and a shirt. They were Multi’s, consequently hanging loose on Dewdrop’s skinny frame, but he was not in position to make exigences anyway. Returning to the room, he noticed Multi sitting at the edge of the bed, a small glass container at his side on the mattress.

“ I know you are a frustrated fire ghoul but, dude, you gotta get me a new mirror later.” The multi-instrumentalist frowned and sounded hurt.

“ A broken mirror is the least of my problems right now, Multi.” Crossing his arms, Dewdrop sat beside the other. “I’m sorry.” He whispered without keeping eye contact. “I  _ had _ to break at least something.”

“ I understand. I still react like that sometimes too, although not as often as before. I found other ways to channel anger and frustration. Anyways, show me your wound.” He said as he opened the glass container and coated a finger in some white cream.

“ What is it?” Dewdrop looked uncertain at the unknown ointment but obeyed nonetheless.

“ Well, the short answer is that it’s a healing ointment made by Earth.” Multi slid his finger over the cut and Dewdrop hissed when he felt his skin stinging.

“ And the long answer…?”

“ Hm, let’s say that sometimes I get hurt really bad, you know?”

“ Multi, are you seriously being prudish with me?” The smaller ghoul rolled his eyes, annoyed.

“ Whatever. Have you seen Breeze’s nails?! And Water  _ does  _ like to dig his deep in my skin.” They both chuckled. “My body gets scratched everywhere. I asked Earth some time ago if he could help me somehow and he made me this ointment using some herbs and whatever. It’s very effective and won’t leave any scars. Well, it works fast on regular scratches, I’ve never tried it on deep cuts like yours, but I’m pretty sure it’ll work, maybe it just takes a bit longer to heal.”

“ It’ll save me a worried Aether asking me about the cut anyways.” He sighed looking at his hand.

Multi kept silent while bandaging Dewdrop’s hand. “There you go.”

The lead guitarist closed and opened his hand a few times, the pain now a little more relieved.

“ Dew, it’s clear that you don’t wanna talk about what happened and I won’t pressure you to, but if there’s any way I can help you, please let me know.” The tall ghoul placed a hand on Dewdrop’s thigh and squeezed it in reassurance. “I don’t know what happened, but it worries me, dude.”

“ You’re right, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t even want to think about it right now.” He rubbed at his eyes, tsking. “A distraction is all I need in this moment. What do you do when you’re feeling like you’re about to explode and just want to shut your brain off?”

“ Get high and have rough sex?” He shrugged.

“ Rough sex will do it. Are you up to it?”

“ Sure.”

Dewdrop used his good hand to cup a side of Multi’s face, pulling him in for a straightforward open mouthed kiss. “Just do it right and make me forget everything else.” He quickly said as they paused for air.

“ Have I ever disappointed you?” The taller ghoul smirked and dragged Dewdrop by the waist to the center of the mattress, both stripping off in a hurry and throwing their clothes on the floor.

Wrapping his arms around the other and pressing their bodies together, Multi was quick to attack Dewdrop’s neck, nibbling and harshly sucking on the skin to leave a love bite and make him growl. The small ghoul pushed all of his weight forward to make Multi fall on his back, quickly straddling him and grinding his hips as the ghoul muffled a moan.

Dewdrop ducked down to steal a kiss from him, but before he could do it Multi turned to his side, using one hand to pin both wrists of the lead guitarist above his head. “It’s kinda hot that you can pin me down like this.” He remarked.

Multi grabbed the back of Dewdrop’s neck and brought their faces together, licking the other’s lips and running the tip of his tongue around Dewdrop’s teeth before slipping it into his mouth. Multi slid the hand on the neck down the smaller ghoul’s chest, scratching the pale skin and leaving reddish thin lines. He used a thumb to gently rub a nipple, feeling the nub hardening under his touch.

As their kiss became sloppy and intense, both acting like they were trying to stick their tongues inside one another’s throat, Multi tugged and twisted a nipple piercing, to which Dewdrop immediately responded wriggling beneath the taller ghoul and moaned into his mouth.

Dragging his lips up the other’s cheek, Multi kissed and licked one of his ears, the sound of his breathing and moist tongue lapping and sucking at the earlobe serving as a perfect turn on for Dewdrop, who felt his already hard cock twitching, begging for attention.

Multi let go of the other’s wrist and descended the kisses down his torso, his lips now replacing the fingers that were playing with a nipple, brushing against it before opening the lips to let the bud into his mouth. Dewdrop held onto Multi’s broad shoulders while squirming when the other fire ghoul started sucking on a nipple and pressed the piercing between his teeth so he could pull on it.

“ Stop teasing and fuck me, Multi!” The small ghoul eagerly whined.

“ Oh, I will.” Multi looked up at the other and smirked. “But first I want to feel your cock in my mouth.” He said as he dragged his mouth down Dewdrop’s body, kissing his hipbone and a thigh, ignoring his groin area. “Open your legs for me, Dew.” He tenderly asked while moving the other’s legs apart, lifting one of them so it’d rest over Multi’s shoulder.

The tall ghoul massaged the raised thigh and placed a few kisses on it, tracing his fingers up and down the skin, getting too close to Dewdrop’s groin to tease him. Lowering his head, he kept kissing and nibbling on the thigh using one of his hands to fondle and softly squeeze the other’s testicles. He used his other hand to touch Dewdrop’s hardness, the ghoul sighing in relief as his erection finally received attention.

Multi started pumping the smaller ghoul’s dick while mouthing his balls, licking and massaging them with his tongue. Dewdrop felt his hairs bristling, feeling good for once that night. He just focused on the sensations and enjoyed the moment. However, he was about to complain when Multi’s mouth and hand pulled away, but when he looked down he saw the exact moment that the taller ghoul wrapped his lips around his shaft while keeping eye contact with him.

Throwing his head back, a curse escaped Dewdrop’s mouth, the ghoul holding firmly at the sheets as he felt the vibrations of Multi’s hums around him. The multi-instrumentalist used one hand to hold the other’s hips in place, using the thumb to make circles around his hip bone, when Dewdrop started thrusting up into Multi’s mouth. He gently rammed the tip of Dewdrop’s cock into the roof of his mouth, which caused the ghoul to wriggle under him.

Watching Multi between his legs going down on him only made Dewdrop hornier and eager. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to fuck his face or be fucked by him, whatever happened now he’d probably be satisfied anyways. He inhaled sharply when Multi gave shallow sucks to his head, pressure building inside him and his heart beating faster. Realizing that Dewdrop was close to the climax, the taller ghoul sucked him one last time before pulling away, which caused the other to whine and prop on his elbows to check what was going on.

“ Why did you stop?!”

“ You’re not coming now. Turn around.”

Dewdrop sighed, but complied. He laid on his stomach and watched as the other opened the drawer of his nightstand and took a bottle of lube from there. He grabbed the smaller ghoul’s hips and lifted his butt up in the air, Dewdrop’s torso and face still pressed against the mattress. Multi positioned himself behind the lead guitarist, coated his fingers in lube and spread Dewdrop’s cheeks apart before carefully inserting the fingertip inside him and causing the smaller ghoul to let out a soft moan.

Soon Multi added his whole middle finger, retreating it just to push it inside again and repeating the movement a few times to make Dewdrop get used to the feeling as he massaged his insides in small, slow, circular motions. It didn’t take him much longer, though. “More.” Dewdrop asked and Multi gladly thrusted a second finger into his asshole, scissoring and stretching him.

Dewdrop grinded his hips down on the fingers, which Multi curled at the tips and slowly dragged down, repeating the motion a few times, stroking the prostate and sending shivers down the other’s body.

“ Do you like it when I do this?”

He couldn’t see Dewdrop’s face, the lead guitarist had his eyes shut, lips parted, from where a grunt escaped, and tried to nod in response, but Multi gave him a hard slap on the ass, Dewdrop yelling at the burning sensation spreading on his skin. “I couldn’t hear you, Dew. Do you like it?” He curled the two fingers inside the other again.

“ YES! Fuck! I do!”

Multi chuckled in delight as he removed his fingers, leaving Dewdrop empty and aching for more. He took the bottle again and smeared the lube over his hard dick, stroking it a few times before grabbing the other’s hips to keep them steady as he aligned himself behind Dewdrop, pushing the head of his cock against the loosened asshole. Both ghouls sighed heavily at the careful insertion.

When Dewdrop finally took all of Multi’s length inside him, the taller ghoul smoothly ran a hand over his spine, as if to ease the discomfort the other would be feeling in that moment. “Same safe word as always?” He asked Dewdrop before continuing.

“ Yes.”

And then Multi began thrusting inside him. The smaller ghoul spread his legs as wide as possible for him without losing the balance, making it easier for Multi to pound into him. The tall ghoul suddenly recalled the exciting memory of the first time that they went wild together and how he felt relieved to find someone he trusted and liked to do the same things as him. Maybe it was due to the fact that they were both fire ghouls.

As much as he loved Water and appreciated the ghoul’s effort to keep up with him in bed, Multi knew and respected the bassist’s limit. On the occasions when he felt the need to unleash his feral side, he’d call for Dewdrop, someone who he was sure wouldn’t easily get hurt by whatever they decided to do together.

The feeling was mutual, Dewdrop also felt comfortable around Multi to try the roughest things, the compatibility between them undeniable. It would be common for them to taunt and drive one another crazy sometimes, but deep inside they were bonded by trust and reassurance.

“ Harder, Multi!” The smaller ghoul pleaded, rocking back his hip against Multi at the same time the other thrusted deep into him, hitting his prostate. “Like this...” He moaned at the delightful sensation. The tall ghoul spanked him again on the ass, Dewdrop groaning louder at every slap.

“ You’re so noisy. To the wall, Dew.”

Still with Multi inside him, Dewdrop crawled on the mattress towards the nearest wall. He raised his upper body, supporting his weight with his elbow and reached forward, resting his forearms, one after the other, against the wall. Soon Multi resumed pushing, now faster than before, the sound of his hips slapping against the other’s cheeks now more audible. The taller ghoul let out a low growl when he felt Dewdrop clenching tight around his cock.

Multi roughly yanked the other ghoul by the hair, who threw his head back, and leaned forward to bite on his bony shoulder and the side of his neck. He pressed his teeth so deep into the pale flesh of the other they left purplish marks on the patch of skin.

A heady flush spread over Dewdrop’s face as his breath started quickening. Just when he decided to lower down one hand from the wall to touch his dick dripping pre-cum, Multi let go of the blonde hair to place his hand over the other’s, keeping it in the same place as before, and used the other hand to harshly grope at the side of Dewdrop’s hip, occasionally digging his nails in the skin.

“ So... Is this how you... treat Water?” Dewdrop said between pants, a shameless smirk forming on his face as he grinded against the other.

“ Why don’t you find out by yourself?” Multi pounded harder into the smaller ghoul, who screamed in pleasure. “You could come and watch us fucking next time.”

“ I’d love to...”

Their bodies were burning, adrenaline running hot in their system. It would not take long for them to come, so Multi decided to slow down his pace and pulled out. Dewdrop found himself confused at the loss of contact and just when he turned his head to look over his shoulder Multi flipped the smaller ghoul on his back against the mattress, quickly lifting Dewdrop’s legs over his shoulders, leaning closer and bending him further than what was comfortable before entering him again more easily now.

They looked into each other’s eyes for a few moments observing their wide pupils. Multi flashed him a genuine smile as he lowered his head to kiss Dewdrop wetly, their mouths pressing so frantically that Multi felt his lip cut against the other’s teeth, a sudden metallic taste invading their kiss.

He pulled his head away and cupped the side of Dewdrop’s face with one hand, using his thumb to brush over the other’s lips, that invitingly parted, letting Multi slide his finger into the smaller ghoul’s mouth, his split tongue wrapping around the digit as he avidly sucked it. Dewdrop slipped one hand down his body and reached for his sensitive cock, his muscles shivering involuntarily at the touch.

Multi kept rolling his hips at the perfect rhythm, thrusting mercilessly inside Dewdrop, what made the bed squeal and shake beneath them almost louder than the sound of their flesh smacking together.

“ Multi… I’m close...” Dewdrop announced between moans, his breath quickening as he stroked himself faster.

The taller ghoul knew exactly what the other expected him to do before reaching the climax, so he dragged the hand that he was using to cup Dewdrop’s face down to his neck, fingers brushing lightly at the marked skin. The lead guitarist glanced at Multi with half closed eyes and nodded, allowing him to close his hand around Dewdrop’s throat and squeeze it hard enough to prevent the smaller ghoul from breathing.

Dewdrop felt his dick throbbing in his hand at the same time that he noticed Multi brushing against his prostate to give him an extra boost of pleasure. He could barely inhale air, his own heartbeats pulsing loud in his ears. Dewdrop used his other hand to grab at Multi’s biceps once he couldn’t resist the pressure building inside anymore, feeling light-headed before shuddering in pleasure and feeling his come splatter over his chest and stomach in thick, hot streaks.

His vision went black at the most intense point of his orgasm, curling his toes as ecstasy washed over his body, his system being flooded by the intensified sensation due the choking. A moan got caught in Dewdrop’s burning lungs and Multi immediately let go of his neck so the smaller ghoul could finally gulp for air again.

Dewdrop finally loosened the death grip on Multi’s arm, relaxing into his motions, feeling the ghoul coming inside him, his hips jerking shallowly as the taller ghoul drew his orgasm out, pleasure spreading out his body. Gasping and barely breathing properly again, the lead guitarist went limp, exhausted, one of his legs falling from Multi’s shoulder to rest over the mattress. The taller ghoul caught his breath and slipped his now softened cock out of Dewdrop with a slick sound.

With his face mostly covered by his dampened hair, Dewdrop rolled on his side and dragged his knees up, still breathing with some difficulty. A floating feeling lingered for a while and he felt his skin burning against the cool sheets. He also felt the growing sting from the bites and scratches on his body and an increasing pain in his lower back. He quivered at the light touches of Multi’s fingers on his arm, smoothing his sensitive skin.

“ Dew, are you alright?” His voice was soothing and caring. The multi-instrumentalist then ducked down to gently brush his lips over Dewdrop’s shoulder, which caused the ghoul beneath him to instinctively flinch.

Multi brushed the hair off the other’s face, cupping it so he could carefully turn his head in his direction, looking Dewdrop in the eyes. “Everything okay?”

The lead guitarist blinked a few times before leaning forward to a kiss. “I feel great.” And he was not lying, he just needed some time to recover from the rush, his heart still pounding fast in his chest.

He finally felt relaxed, the muscle tension was gone for the time being and he had just had a powerful orgasm. It was undeniable that Multi was able to keep his word to not disappoint him. “Thank you.” Dewdrop smiled at the ghoul and reached a hand to touch his face, brushing a thumb over the freckles peppering Multi’s dark skin.

Multi grabbed the hand and tenderly kissed it, but stopped when he heard the other hissing.

“ I think my injury got worse.” Dewdrop observed his bandaged hand. “I don’t even remember what I used this one for.” They both chuckled and Multi looked for the ointment that happened to have landed on the floor.

“ You are now even more wrecked than when I found you on the corridors earlier. Sorry, but this was for my broken mirror.”

“ Fuck off, you idiot.”

They laughed at each other’s silly comments while Multi took care of cleaning Dewdrop’s stomach and covering the cuts on his skin with the healing ointment, being as gentle as possible to not hurt him any further. When Multi finished he wrapped his arms around the smaller ghoul on the bed, tangling their legs and placing sweet kisses and licks to Dewdrop’s entire face, who appreciated the attention.

When their bodies cooled down and the lead guitarist felt like he was about to drift off to sleep, a specific thought disturbed him, the need of help striking him again. Dewdrop sighed before asking “Multi, do you think I’m some kind of, I don’t know, wild beast?” Did that question even make sense?

The taller ghoul stared at him in confusion, “You mean, like, in bed? Hell yeah!” He grinned at him, but Dewdrop rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“ No, you fool! I mean… Do you think I’m a bad ghoul? A savage?” He looked away, feeling exposed asking something like that.

“ Bad? What’s the definition of bad?”

“ You’re not making it easy.”

“ For my ‘ghoul parameters’ I don’t consider you a bad one. Sure you can be annoying and act spoiled sometimes, but I’d not say you’re a terrible ghoul. Why do you ask?”

Dewdrop kept silent, he wasn’t sure where he was going with that question.

“Nevermind.” He nuzzled the crook of Multi’s neck, avoiding any eye contact. He felt like it’d be better if he just went to sleep, but deep inside he wanted and needed to vent. “I feel like I’m cheating on Aether.”

“ Dew, I thought he was okay with it.”

“ No, I’m not talking about sex. We are okay with it, it’s just that... ” Silence again. The words were on the tip of his tongue, he just needed enough courage to spill them out.

Multi tightened the hug around him in reassurance and that brought Dewdrop to the verge of tears. Embarrassed, he took a deep breath before continuing. “Please, don’t ask questions, just hear me out.”

“ Sure.” Multi said.

“ There’s something I’ve been hiding from him and this is killing me. I can’t tell anyone about it because I’m afraid of the consequences. Even if I’m not giving you any details I fear that this brief talk will bring harm to any of us.” He paused to fight back the urge to cry. He wouldn’t cry, he  _ wouldn’t _ cry. “This is a burden that I should carry alone and in silence, but I see now that I’m not able to.”

Multi smoothed Dewdrop’s hair and whispered back to him, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you anything nor will tell anyone about our private talk. But… Dew, you’re not alone. Whatever your problem is, I’m sure you can count on us for help. There’s always another option.”

“ I wish...” The small ghoul muttered to himself.

 

***

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...? 😏 I hope you enjoyed the sexy time before the peak of the storm.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dewdrop finds out how painful the lack of communication can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short, but also painful chapter :(
> 
> Thanks to @copias_gloves and @mercyfull for the beta work <3

Dewdrop’s sleep was disturbed by the sunlight that entered the room through the curtain breaches. He squinted and rubbed at his eyes before opening them, his vision still sensitive to the light. Feeling a weight on his waist, the guitarist looked down to find Multi’s arm embracing him, the taller ghoul’s face buried in Dewdrop’s neck and his breath tickling his skin.

Sighing, the small ghoul realized his body truly relaxed for the first time that week, even if he also felt sore but it was the good kind of pain he enjoyed. Just when he was wondering whether he should get up at that moment or stay in bed a little longer, Multi retreated his arm and moved his body, yawning. Turning on his side, Dewdrop observed the other ghoul waking up and greeted him with a smile. 

“Morning.” Multi said as he stretched, his voice still husky from sleep.

“Morning.” Dewdrop propped on an elbow, resting his face on his good hand.

“Do you feel better?”

The lead guitarist nodded in response and flashed a smile, but he got confused when he saw Multi frowning as he stared at his neck. “Sorry for this one.” The taller ghoul asked as he reached out a hand to gently stroke Dewdrop’s bruises from having been choked.

“Don’t. It’s completely fine.” He placed his bandaged hand over Multi’s. It wasn’t the first time they had done this, but sometimes Multi worried if he had been too harsh. Dewdrop appreciated the concern, but he never felt truly hurt, he actually enjoyed the sensation a lot. “If I’m being honest I must say that I feel reinvigorated, thanks.” He chuckled and Multi gave him a smug smile.

“And what about your cut?”

Sitting up, Dewdrop untied the bandages and checked the injury, surprised to see that it was almost completely closed. “Wow, Earth is a genius!” He showed his hand to Multi who smiled back at him.

“Told you it’d heal, but I think you should keep using a bandage, at least until the end of the day.”

“I don’t know... We have practice later and I’m afraid Aether will ask me about it. I’m not sure what to tell him without raising suspicion.”

“Hm, what if you told him you got cut with a knife?”

It wasn’t a lie though. “But why? How?”

“Edgeplay?” He smirked. “I’ll take the blame this time. How cool of me, right?”

Rolling his eyes, but without being able to think of another convincing excuse, Dewdrop answered “Ugh, fine.”

“Enough talk. I’m starving! Let’s go take a shower and have breakfast, c’mon.” Multi got up from the bed pulling Dewdrop by the wrist.

 

***

 

When they arrived at the kitchen Blizzard and Earth were the only ones there. They were sitting at the counter, the ghoulette sipping a cup of coffee and the drummer eating from a cereal bowl, however he looked like he was about to fall asleep at any second while still holding a spoon close to the mouth hole of his mask.

“Oh, hey, guys!” Blizzard greeted them with a wave of her hand and the ghouls replied. 

Earth looked startled at the sudden conversation and unintentionally dropped the spoon into the bowl, widening his eyes as if he had just woken up from an open-eyed sleep.

Multi couldn’t help laughing at the tall ghoul. “You okay, buddy? There’s cow milk on your clothes.” He pointed at the drops of milk that were spilled when the spoon fell.

“It’s soy milk, dumbass.” He sighed before wiping his black shirt with a napkin.

“Whatever.” Multi sat in front of Earth.

“Uh, what happened to your hand?” Blizzard asked Dewdrop and Earth also looked his way, spotting the bandages on the small ghoul’s hand.

“Oh, this...” He wondered whether Multi’s lie was enough, but the other fire ghoul spoke when he noticed how long it was taking for Dewdrop to continue.

“We thought that knives would be a good idea for spicing things up, you know?” He winked at Blizzard who raised an eyebrow under the mask.

“Interesting, I won’t kinkshame you two.” She chuckled.

“In fact we should try it more often.” Much to Dewdrop’s displeasure, Multi dragged on the invention as he playfully kicked Earth on the shins.

However, even if Earth was wearing a mask, it was obvious that he didn’t feel pleased at all. In fact, Dewdrop actually found it weird how impatient Earth seemed when he saw the drummer tsking and getting up from his seat. The tall ghoul left the bowl still with cereal on the counter and headed towards the exit of the kitchen, glancing at Dewdrop in disapproval.

That only added to the lead guitarist’s confusion. Why the hell did Earth look at him like that when Multi was the one bothering him? Dewdrop tilted his head but the drummer was already gone.

“What the fuck just happened?” He asked, genuinely taken aback.

“All fire ghouls are annoying like you, Multi?” Blizzard snorted.

“What? I was just messing with him.” Multi retorted, trying to defend his side.

“You’re just mean, I’ve noticed the way you’ve been treating Earth. Not funny.”

“It’s not my fault if he’s annoyed by so little.” He shrugged and Blizzard shook her head.

“I can’t believe I’ve slept with a jerk like you.” The ghoulette faked massaging her temples over the mask.

Multi was so controversial, he could act like a gentleman as much as he could be insensitive. Thinking a bit more, Dewdrop realized that all fire ghouls he’d met in his life had some big flaw when it came to social interactions. Multi could be cynical and plain rude sometimes, Dewdrop was short-tempered, the mission leader topped their rudeness though.

And then the thoughts regarding the mission were back. Well, at least Dewdrop beat the record for longest time without thinking about it, how nice. He got so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t pay attention to the discussion between Blizzard and Multi until the ghoulette directly called his attention a couple times.

“Dew, are you listening to me?” She snapped her fingers and Dewdrop blinked a few times.

“Sorry, my brain is still asleep.”

“Hm, I see. Anyways, Aether was looking for you earlier. He asked me to tell you in case I saw you before him.” She took a final sip from her already cold coffee.

“Oh, thanks for letting me know.” Dewdrop smiled faintly in an attempt to keep his tone as usual and exchanged a quick look with Multi before dropping his gaze. 

“Also, the other day Breeze told me you are into spells and stuff!” She excitedly said with a grin on her face. 

_ Oh, shit _ , thought Dewdrop. He could feel Multi’s attention being drawn to him again.

“Ah, it’s not like I’m  _ into _ it, I was just indulging a sudden curiosity.”

“Don’t be shy, it’s a very interesting topic. We should talk more about it, you know where to find me though.”

“Yeah, sure...”

“Well, I’ve gotta go now, boys.” Blizzard got up. “See you later.” She waved at them as she exited the place.

“Spells, huh?” Multi sounded curious.

“I told you, no questions.”

“Fine then.” He sighed and headed towards the fridge, opening its door and scanning the inside with his eyes. “What do you want to eat? A two-week old pizza or an unknown greenish food that looks like demon’s vomit?”

“Two-week old pizza, please.” 

 

***

 

They had rehearsal that afternoon and fortunately all of them got there in time. Dewdrop tried his best to escape the other ghouls’s attention earlier that day but he knew he was just postponing his suffering, and when he entered the practice room, his eyes immediately spotted Aether tuning his own guitar in a corner. 

Of course Aether would be there, all the ghouls would, but Dewdrop felt so bad for not having gone after him that morning despite Blizzard’s message. If he was trying to act cool and go unnoticed, he was definitely doing it the wrong way. And he was aware of his mistake.

As if he had noticed the gaze upon himself, Aether looked up from his instrument and saw Dewdrop, who carefully stepped closer to him with his arms crossed over his chest. “Hey.” the smaller ghoul said while trying to keep eye contact, but occasionally looking away from gentle brown eyes.

To Dewdrop’s surprise, Aether smiled at him and pulled him into a soft hug. “I miss you.”

The lead guitarist felt miserable when he realized once again how kind Aether was to him yet he failed to preserve his trust, even if Aether didn’t know about that. But Dewdrop did and he’d have to live with heavy conscience. The fact that he felt so guilty that he couldn’t even reply ‘I miss you too’ didn’t help him feel any better. Dewdrop missed Aether more than anything and he wanted to tell him, he wanted to open up, but there were other ghouls in the room and he was afraid to show a state of vulnerability if he had a breakdown right there.

Noticing Dewdrop’s muteness, Aether sighed and resumed tuning his guitar. “I’d like to talk with you after rehearsing, is that okay?”

“Uh… Alright.” The smaller ghoul reluctantly replied and left Aether’s side when he didn’t have anymore to say.

The practice was a disaster because of Dewdrop, of course. He couldn’t focus on whatever he was playing and blamed his injured hand for it, a lie that he told to others but both him and Multi knew it wasn’t true. Aether also got suspicious since he knew how well Dewdrop could resist pain and a wound never really stopped him from playing. 

They definitely needed to talk.

And so they did a few hours later. They went to Dewdrop’s room without saying a word on their way there. Dewdrop closed the door behind them and they sat at the edge of his bed, removing their masks, an uncomfortable silence hovering around them. 

“So...” the lead guitarist tried to initiate a conversation. “What do you want to talk about?” He seriously thought that pretending he didn’t know what the problem was would work?

“Is there anything you’re not telling me?” Aether’s voice was calm and Dewdrop almost gave in to tell him everything.

“I… spent the night with Multi.” Maybe he could play dumb, right?

“I know, I can smell him on you.”

“Are you mad about it?”

“Of course not.” He shook his head, his gaze never leaving Dewdrop. “It’s just that… You’ve been so distant lately. What’s going on?”

“Nothing, really. I just happen to be busy, you know?” He scratched his nape and looked at his lap. 

“Busy with what?”

“Stuff. Copia asked for my help to plan something new for the live acts.” Convincing, right? But it’d be a huge problem if Aether went to check the information with the Cardinal himself.

“Dew, stop.” Aether placed a hand on the other’s knee and his suspicions were confirmed. Due to his elemental gift, the big ghoul could feel Dewdrop’s blood pressure rising as well as an odd change in his body heat and heartbeats. 

Dewdrop knew that the moment he saw Aether frowning meant that the big ghoul realized that he was lying, and one of the things that Aether valued the most was sincerity. Dewdrop gulped, being well aware that it was a dead end and that he was jeopardizing the trust of his beloved one. He felt a heaviness on his chest and a strong wish to avoid the other’s eyes, but at the same time he felt compelled to look up at Aether just to meet his brown eyes pleading for honesty. 

“I know you very well and I can tell you’re hiding something. Why don’t you trust me to tell me the truth?” The tall ghoul felt a lump forming in his throat as he asked that.

“Aether, no!” Dewdrop widened his eyes and reached a hand to hold on the other’s forearm. “I trust you with my life!” 

“So why have you been avoiding me? Why didn’t you come to see me this morning? Blizzard told me she’d given you my message. I can’t understand why you’ve been ignoring me. What did I do? Please tell me so I can fix things.” Aether’s ever-gentle expression suddenly changed to concern and sorrow as he squeezed hard the other’s knee.

Hell, if there was someone in this whole story who hadn’t done any wrong it was Aether, and Dewdrop would never forgive himself for making the love of his life feel broken-hearted. 

“Oh, Satan! You haven’t done anything! There’s no need for you to fix anything, Aether.” Dewdrop hugged him tightly and buried his face in the crook of the other’s neck. “I’m so sorry...”

“Dew, I don’t care if you see other ghouls, I do that too and we’ve talked about this before. But knowing that you’re hiding something from  _ me _ pains my heart. You say you trust me but you’re not showing it. Why?”

“I… It’s not a matter of trust, Aether.” He gulped and felt tears forming in his eyes, but he wouldn’t cry. He would  _ not _ .

“I understand if… if your feelings aren’t the same as before, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Dewdrop moved away from the hug to stare at Aether as he tilted his head in confusion.

“About me… Don’t be afraid to be honest with me, you’re probably behaving like this because you don’t want to hurt my feelings, I understand.”

“Aether, what the fuck are you talking about?!” Was Aether assuming that Dewdrop didn’t love him anymore? For real?!

“You know, it’s fine.” Flashing a sad smile, Aether wrapped his arms around the smaller ghoul and gently kissed his forehead before getting up from the bed and put on his mask again. “Don’t worry, I can give you enough space, just be sure to tell me everything when you feel ready.”

“What?! No fucking way! You got it all wrong! Don’t make assumptions, please!” Shocked, Dewdrop got on his feet and followed Aether, who walked toward the door.

“It’s hard not to do when you don’t talk, Dew.” He turned on the knob. “But I can’t blame you, really.” Casting a last glance at Dewdrop, Aether exited the room.

“Are you fucking serious?!” He was left open-mouthed and staring blankly at the door. 

That couldn’t be happening, right? Maybe that was just an awful nightmare and as soon as Dewdrop woke up he’d look for Aether and tell him how much he loved him and cared about him. Maybe even the whole mission issue was part of the nightmare too!

Oh how he wished...

As realisation hit Dewdrop, he felt hot tears running down his cheeks, his vision now blurry from the water in his eyes, his lungs burning when he had not even realised that he’d started crying.

What did he do?! How could he lose control of the situation like that?

He felt an increasing pain in his throat but he couldn’t keep his screams to himself. He felt broken, miserable. He ruined everything, he wasn’t good enough, neither for the mission nor for his lover. 

Consumed by pain and rage, the fire ghoul stood up and found his way towards his bed, tearing off the sheets and dug his then hidden ghoul claws into the mattress, ripping it apart. He knocked down all the objects that were on the shelves or any other surface he saw, an unbearable noise of shattering glass and metal clanking joined his cry and filled the room.

It took him so long to start believing he was worthy and capable of love and now he lost everything by his own fault.

Sister Imperator was right, Dewdrop was feral. 

A savage.

What made him think he could change?

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this, but please don't give up on this fanfic! Many important things are still going to happen.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to revisit some memories...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I introduce a new ghoul in this chapter, Fire from late era III. He's called Igni in my fics.
> 
> A million thanks to @copias_gloves for the beta work and also for being so nice <3

_ “Damn, I do like you.” Dewdrop said as he scooted closer to Igni in bed, the fire ghoul helping him as he pulled the bassist by the waist and pressed their lips together. _

_ “I wonder why.” The lead guitarist smirked at him. _

_ The ghouls were finally back to the Abbey after a leg of the Popestar tour and before they could even get a proper rest, Igni and Dewdrop decided to enjoy their time together in the comfort of Igni’s room that evening. Their clothes were scattered all over the floor along with their masks and the two of them were wrapped in an embrace, their sweaty, naked bodies resting on top of messy sheets. _

_ “I mean it.” the bassist placed a hand on Igni’s chest and used his thumb to make circles on the skin. _

_ “Oh...” Igni went silent for a few seconds and Dewdrop could feel him tensing under his touch. “Are you sure?” _

_ Was Dewdrop sure? No, he was not. In fact he already regretted saying that. It wasn’t an entire lie though, he did like Igni a lot, they spent a good amount of time together, they had great sex and had a lot in common. Despite being a fire ghoul, Igni never belittled Dewdrop for his hybridity of elements, which made the bassist appreciate him even more. _

_ But were all those things enough for him to say for sure that he liked Igni? Because it was clear that he was referring to a strong way of liking at a level of deep emotional connection. But was that true? Did he really want to commit emotionally with Igni?  _

_ “You know? Forget it.” the small ghoul sighed and patted the other’s chest before sitting up on the mattress, his long blonde hair falling over his shoulder and covering half his face while he avoided eye contact. _

_ “Hey, wait. Let’s talk.” Igni touched the side of Dewdrop’s leg. “I just want you to be sure of what you’re saying.” _

_ “Oh, fuck, it’s just that I thought that maybe we could work.” _

_ “You mean as in a relationship?” _

_ “Yeah?” Dewdrop crossed his arms and waited for a response from the guitarist who spent the next moments looking at him dumbfounded, making Dewdrop more anxious. The bassist wouldn’t admit it, but he was afraid of the answer he’d get. _

_ “Hm, Dew… I’m not…” Igni sat up on the bed too so he could look at the other ghoul properly. “You see, I like what we have now.” _

_ And that’s exactly what Dewdrop feared.  _

_ Rejection has been playing a big role in his life since he was born. His mother was a fire ghoulette and his father a water ghoul, but he never actually got to meet them since they died when he was still a newborn. The water clan wouldn’t accept him in fear that he’d become too feral due his fire blood; on the other hand, the fire clan wouldn’t see him as an equal because they considered water ghouls weak, a burden. _

_ Dewdrop was too close to being abandoned when an elder fire ghoul insisted in bringing the kit to their clan. The unusually kind ghoul didn’t get to live for many more years, though. Dewdrop soon found himself alone once again, he knew the other fire ghouls would never accept any display of weakness, especially coming from a rejected, small, thin ghoul like him, so he built his defences and gave his best to prove himself worthy. _

_ No feelings allowed, he tried to turn his heart to stone, he never cried, he never whined, he never lost fights because he knew it’d mean death. He learned that he couldn’t express kindness of any sort. Nothing. Only the primal instincts of survival, mating and hunting. _

_ But Dewdrop knew it wasn’t what he wanted. Deep inside he wanted to have a different life, he didn’t want to worry about being betrayed or attacked from behind all the time, he didn’t want to forcefully show pleasure in fighting and lacerating other ghouls because it was a tradition from his clan.  _

_ A clan that never truly accepted him. _

_ So when Dewdrop was summoned to Earth, he thought that maybe it could be a chance for him to have a better life, but he wasn’t expecting the years he spent in hell to have such a weight in his new home. He was just not used to displays of affection, humour, laughs, kindness, trust, safety… So it unfortunately took him too long to answer well to these factors. He was constantly deconstructing his distrust, anger and coldheartedness, but the other ghouls, siblings of sin and clergymen were always frightened by his behaviour. _

_ Rejected on Earth as he was in hell. _

_ But once he learned how to gradually fence off, he got to be positively noticed by others ghouls. The first one was an earth ghoul that fled the clergy not much longer after they met; and now that he was in the band, he was surrounded by a few mates that didn’t treat him badly, even though he wasn’t close to some of them, like the current drummer, but at least they were not hiding from Dewdrop (most of the time). Igni was nice and easygoing for a fire ghoul, which amused Dewdrop since the beginning; Aether was kind and friendly and treated everyone well. _

_ So Dewdrop thought that maybe it was the beginning of his ‘normal’ life in the clergy, he was probably able to make friends and have social links, even if very few, but at least it was way better than when he was in hell, right? _

_ He even thought that he was capable of love, but now that he knew how Igni felt about him… Maybe ‘love’ was out of his reach after all. Still, Dewdrop couldn’t pretend he was happy with the other’s response. _

_ “Won’t you even give me a chance, Igni?!” He tried to hold back anger and frustration, but the tone of his voice gave it all. _

_ “Dew, calm down.” The guitarist gently held the other’s shoulders and looked at him in the eyes, but Dewdrop just frowned and turned his face to the side, shrugging off Igni’s hold. “If you want me to be completely honest, I don’t believe relationships are for me and I’d rather not hurt you.” _

_ “Whatever.” The bassist got up from the bed and collected his clothes from the floor. _

_ Sighing, Igni pinched the bridge of his nose and pondered his next words. “I don’t want you to think that I have a problem with you, okay? I meant it when I said that I like what we have. I’m not sure that changing it would work for both of us and I’m just being sincere.” _

_ “I get it.” He said between gritted teeth. _

_ But was Dewdrop being sincere to himself? Was trying to get in a relationship with Igni what he honestly wanted? Or was that only a way that Dewdrop found to avoid dealing with his true feelings? Feelings not towards Igni, but someone else.  _

_ Aether. _

_ Truth be told, since they first talked a few months ago, Dewdrop developed a strong admiration for Aether, who was kind and trustworthy. He never looked down on Dewdrop nor was he afraid of him, like most of the other clergy ghouls. The bassist would not even realize how much he enjoyed being around the quintessence ghoul and the times they got together caused him different feelings from when he was with others, Igni included. _

_ But there was no way for an aether ghoul to feel the slight interest in someone like Dewdrop, right? Quintessences were the epitome of ghouls, highly evaluated both by the clergy and hell, especially due to their special, rare element. Dewdrop was intriguing at best, since he was a hybrid, but what else did he have to offer? He was a hot-headed ghoul with social issues, the closest he had to a real friend was Igni and, more recently, said Aether ghoul that had been shaking his heart. _

_ It would be better for Dewdrop to cut those feelings because he knew he couldn’t aim for an unrealistic scenario where he would get committed to Aether. At the same time, he asked himself if he was being fair for trying to initiate a relationship with Igni when his feelings were not honest or strong enough. _

_ Realizing what a bad choice that would be, Dewdrop sighed in regret. He felt stupid for thinking that was a good idea and Igni didn’t deserve to be deceived by him when Dewdrop’s heart wasn’t even in the right place. _

_ “There’s no need for further explanation, really.” The bassist said when he started to calm down.  _

_ “Are you mad?” _

_ “I’m not.” He replied while getting dressed. Dewdrop was mad at himself, not Igni. _

_ “Are we… still going to see each other?” _

_ “I don’t know, do you still want to see me?” _

_ “I do.”  _

_ Dewdrop didn’t reply, he just put on his clothes and mask and walked toward the door, anxiety already built enough inside him. _

_ “There’s something else.” Igni said before the other left. _

_ “It’s enough, Igni. You can’t see me as your boyfriend and I don’t blame you.” _

_ “I’m leaving the band soon.” _

_ “You what? Why?” The small ghoul was caught off guard, he wasn’t sure he had heard it right. _

_ “Sister Imperator told me that there will be some big changes at the end of the year and she wants me to be part of a group to recruit other ghouls from hell. So I won’t be here on Earth a lot. I wouldn’t be able to handle any relationship like that.” The fire ghoul frowned, sincere blue eyes looking into Dewdrop’s. _

_ He wasn’t expecting such revelation. What big changes? Would it be possible for him to be dumped out of the band too? If Igni, who was very skillful and charismatic, would be relocated, what about him? And Aether? Earth? Air? Dewdrop has always been aware of the turnover inside the band, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone, so maybe he should have prepared himself better for this moment. _

_ Too bad. _

_ “No way! So soon?” The bassist asked, startled. _

_ “It seems so...” _

_ “Fuck… And are you okay with it?” The bassist asked, truly concerned. _

_ “I’ve never seen myself as a recruiter, not gonna lie. But if it’s what the clergy wants I can’t say no, can I?” Igni faked a smile before dropping his gaze to the sheets before him in the bed. _

_ “I guess not…” The silence was uncomfortable to both ghouls and after the disclosure neither had anymore to say. “Well, I’ve gotta go now.” Dewdrop scraped his neck before approaching the door. _

_ “I hope you’re not upset...”  _

_ “Don’t worry, I can be a functional adult when I want.” _

 

_ *** _

 

_ Everyone noticed how things had been strange between Dewdrop and Igni during the upcoming days. The band ghouls were used to seeing the two of them often hanging around and chatting, but during that week they barely talked. It wasn’t like they were ignoring each other, they did acknowledge one another, it was just that they didn’t have much to say for the time being. They thought that maybe they could get back to their normal interactions after a while. _

_ One of those days, Dewdrop decided to spend some time alone in the practice room, which no one else was using during that week due to their break. He tuned his bass and strummed a low melody he had come up with, warming his fingers while still thinking about the past days.  _

_ He didn’t feel like he had the guts to talk to Igni as usual so soon, especially because he still felt guilty for considering using the guitarist as a way to mask his real feelings.  _

_ “Fuck...” He muttered, reproving himself. _

_ When Dewdrop least expected, the door of the room was opened and he immediately looked up from his instrument to check who the visitor was. _

_ Aether. _

_ “Fuck!” He said to himself once again, widening his eyes in surprise. _

_ “Oh, hey!” Aether greeted him as he closed the door behind him. Dewdrop couldn’t see his face because of the mask, but judging by the tone of his voice Aether was probably smiling. _

_ And Dewdrop would love to see that smile, to see his true face. _

_ “What are you doing in here?” Maybe the bassist sounded a bit rude, which was not his intention, he was just not expecting anyone to come to the rehearsal room. _

_ “Sorry, am I disturbing your practice?” Aether stopped in his tracks as if he wasn’t sure if he should be there. _

_ “Shit, no.” Dewdrop promptly said, shaking his head. _

_ “It’s just that I saw you coming here by yourself and I thought maybe we could chat a bit!” The guitarist approached and stopped in front of him. _

_ Dewdrop looked up at the tall, almost intimidating, figure before him. “Why do you want to chat with me, of all people?” He tilted his head. _

_ “Ah… Well,” Scraping his neck, Aether headed towards the small stage in the room and sat at the edge, Dewdrop following him after leaving his bass in the support. “Honestly, I just wanted to check on you. I noticed you’ve been kind of weird lately.” _

_ The smaller ghoul would never expect Aether to care about him like that. Or maybe he should have, since the guitarist was always so friendly. Of course there was no special reason for him to check on Dewdrop because that was probably how Aether would act towards any other ghoul he had noticed any change in behaviour, right? _

_ Sighing, Dewdrop sat at his side and crossed his arms. “Did Igni tell you something?” _

_ “Uh, no. Are you two okay?” _

_ Oh, so he didn’t know yet. _

_ “Not anymore. I mean, at least I hope not for too long.” _

_ “Do you… wanna talk about it?” Aether mindfully asked him.  _

_ It took Dewdrop a few seconds before he answered. He wasn’t sure whether it was a good idea to tell the guy he was falling for about the other guy he tried to commit to. But maybe that was a good opportunity for him to vent. Dewdrop knew he was building anxiety inside and he feared the consequences for restraining his feelings. He took a deep breath and looked down at his foot. “I thought maybe Igni and I could be… something more, you know?” _

_ “You mean like... Marrying?” _

_ “What?! No! I just wanted to be his boyfriend, but he said that relationships were not for him and now I see, that’s probably the fate of every fire ghoul, right?” He sadly chuckled. “Not being able to keep a relationship for whatever reason.” He leaned back and supported his weight on his elbows. _

_ “I thought-” Aether tried to say something, but Dewdrop mindlessly cut him. _

_ “I mean, I don’t blame him, really. At least he told me the truth. Perhaps I’m more disappointed at myself at this point.” Talking more to himself, he paused and stared into the void. _

_ “Dewdrop, I thought you two were already in a relationship.” Aether said, surprised. _

_ “Why would you think that?” _

_ “I don’t know, I always see you two together, you look close. Oh, shit, sorry, my comment is probably not being very helpful right now...” Tsking, Aether slapped the forehead of his mask with his palm in disapproval of his choice of words. _

_ “It’s fine, dude. I will be over it soon. Besides, I’m not great at feelings and no one would ever be interested in a problematic ghoul like me anyways. I should focus my energy on playing, it’d be more useful.” _

_ “Hey, I don’t think you should just give up like that.” Aether turned at the waist so he could have a better view of Dewdrop’s eyes.  _

_ “But I’m just wasting my time.” _

_ “You sure? Pay more attention to the people around you.” _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “Maybe you could even catch a hint or two.” _

_ “I’m not up to games.” _

_ “Hm… Fair.” Aether turned his body to face forward again and the ghouls went silent for a few moments. _

_ Dewdrop wondered about Aether’s words, was he just being kind to say that the bassist shouldn’t give up on his feelings? Was he being serious with the whole ‘hint’ talk? Was there someone interested in Dewdrop? That couldn’t be the case, at least Dewdrop couldn’t think of anyone. _

_ Intrigued by the fact that the guitarist wouldn’t leave his side, Dewdrop sat up straight again. “You know you have no obligation to listen to me, right?” _

_ “I know.” _

_ “So why don’t you go do something else? Why waste your time here with me?” Dewdrop hated to be pitied by others and he wouldn’t be pleased to know that Aether was there just for that. _

_ “I can leave if you want me to, but I’m still here because I feel like it.”  _

_ Dewdrop didn’t want the other to leave, in fact the small ghoul wasn’t used to people caring about how he feels, so that moment felt strange for him. “Stay, please...” He whispered without thinking too much and bit his lower lip when he realized what he said. _

_ What happened next caught him completely off guard. Aether hugged him and Dewdrop’s first instinct was to push him back. “What are you doing?!” He asked startled, confused blue eyes staring into Aether’s. _

_ “Sorry, I thought that a hug would make you feel better. I’m sorry, I should have asked first. Sorry...” The guitarist immediately apologized and moved away from the small ghoul.  _

_ Dewdrop could tell that the guy honestly felt bad for thinking that he made the bassist uncomfortable, but it wasn’t the case. Dewdrop was just surprised by the other’s action at the same time that he felt awful for the misunderstanding. He truly wasn’t painting a good picture of himself for the ghoul who he was interested in, was he? _

_ Growling in frustration, Dewdrop shook his head. “I’m such an idiot! If not even a fire ghoul could bear with me let alone an aether ghoul!” He said clearly irritated. _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ In a moment of impulsiveness, Dewdrop yanked his mask off, revealing his flushed angry face, which caused Aether to widen his eyes in shock and become speechless.  _

_ “I’m deeply flawed and I probably love you, you moron!” Dewdrop said at the top of his lungs without even realising, adding to the other ghoul’s surprise. “Of course you shouldn’t know this because how the fuck would that work, right? I know that there’s no way you like me back and it’s fine! I don’t care! Just give me a break! I can’t handle this right now if you’re here being all kind and sweet with me.” _

_ And with that Dewdrop grabbed his mask and got up from the edge of the stage, storming across the room towards the exit, puffing. His heart was racing inside his ribcage and he already regretted everything that happened in the last minute, however it was too much for him to handle, he was just not expecting everything to blow up so soon. _

_ But only when he heard a clunk sound and was about to look back to find where that came from, he felt a grip on one of his wrists. Aether pulled him so they could face each other and for the first time both of them were unmasked in front of one another. _

_ Dewdrop barely had the time to take in how Aether looked when the guitarist picked him up, making the smaller ghoul drop his mask on the floor and instinctively wrap his legs around the other’s waist and his arms around Aether’s neck. The big ghoul carried him to the nearest wall and pressed Dewdrop’s back against it before passionately kissing the bassist. _

_ Everything happened too fast and Dewdrop was actually having a hard time keeping up with the last few minutes in his life. He gracelessly confessed his feelings to Aether seconds before rejecting his hug and now they were… kissing?  _

_ “Aether, what are you-” Dewdrop tried to ask when they paused for air. _

_ “I didn’t know the feeling was mutual...” _

_ Dewdrop finally could pay attention to Aether’s face during the pause. He noticed the guitarist’s thick eyebrows as dark as his short hair, pierced nostrils and ears. Dewdrop led a hand to cup the side of the other’s face and feel his soft cheek revealing a dimple when Aether smiled before kissing him again. Despite having previously spent some time trying to imagine how he looked unmasked, the bassist was wonderstruck by how cozy and warm Aether’s expression was.  _

_ Besides, kissing without having to go through the trouble of lifting masks halfway felt infinitely better. Dewdrop was loving the feeling of their faces rubbing, the heat and texture of Aether’s skin against his, as well as how his fingers easily ran through the guitarist’s soft hair, nails slightly scratching the other’s scalp.  _

_ Still surprised to know that Aether had feelings for him too, Dewdrop had many questions in mind, but he was so invested in their contact at that moment that those questions began to get lost in the midst of the love haze. He just wanted to enjoy their moment together. _

_ “Wait.” Aether pulled away, breathless, and carefully pushed Dewdrop’s legs down, so the bassist could stand on his feet again. _

_ Dewdrop watched, confused, as the big ghoul headed toward a cabinet near the stage and searched for something inside it. Approaching Aether, he saw the other ghoul grabbing a small container of vaseline and placing it on the edge of the stage. The bassist immediately understood what Aether had in mind. _

_ “Oh, Earth will be so pissed when he finds out someone used the vaseline for his drums as lube. Again.” Dewdrop couldn’t help a mischievous smile forming on his face, but ghouls using the drummer’s vaseline was practically a running gag at that point. _

_ “Do you want to head to the dorms instead?” Arching an eyebrow, Aether asked him. _

_ “Of course not.” He removed his thick fabric belt and started unbuttoning his ghoul jacket. “I don’t wanna waste more time.” _

_ “Are you always so eager like this?” Chuckling, the guitarist also stripped off of his coat and before Dewdrop was done removing his uniform, Aether grabbed him by the sides of his open collar and pulled him into a deep kiss. _

_ The bassist breathed hot into Aether’s mouth when his forked tongue slid between the other’s in a scissoring motion. Wrapping his thin arms around the guitarist’s strong frame, Dewdrop’s hands slid up and down the other’s naked back, feeling every muscle under his touch before moving his hands to the other’s hips, avidly groping him there. _

_ “Lay down.” The small ghoul whispered to Aether, who complied. Of course the floor of the rehearsal room was not the most comfortable place to have sex on, but they didn’t want to interrupt the natural course led by their confession, so they couldn’t wait any longer. _

_ Still with his open jacket hanging loose on his frame, Dewdrop removed his trousers and straddled the big ghoul, grinding down when he felt Aether’s bulge poking his ass, a moan escaping from their mouths. He took the vaseline from the stage beside him, coated two fingers with it and reached behind himself, inserting a finger into his entrance while he supported his weight with a hand placed on the middle of Aether’s chest. _

_ He closed his eyes and focused on the task of stretching himself open while the guitarist watched him in awe, amazed by the way Dewdrop’s cheeks turned a light shade of red and the way his tongue darted out of his mouth to lick on his lips. Aether let out a sigh and raised a hand to stroke the side of the bassist’s neck and under his jawline, which caused Dewdrop to feel goosebumps.  _

_ When the small ghoul felt ready he quickly unbuttoned Aether’s trousers and dragged them down his knees, freeing his erection. Dewdrop then smeared vaseline all over the guitarist’s cock, slowly pumping him a few times before raising his own hips and guiding Aether’s length inside him, groaning as he carefully sat down on the big ghoul. _

_ Aether held onto the sides of Dewdrop’s thighs when the ghoul started moving. The bassist hissed and pounced on the guitarist’s dick, biting his bottom lip to stop himself from moaning as he felt his own member getting harder. The small ghoul lifted his hips up, taking only half of the other’s length, and slammed back down, Aether cussing at the other’s tightness.  _

_ Dewdrop smirked when he saw the ghoul beneath him shutting his eyes and arching his back as he tightened the grip on the bassist’s thighs, digging his short nails into the flesh. Dewdrop seductively threw his head back, exposing the skin of his neck and shoulders when his jacket started to slip down his arms due to the steady pace of his ride. _

_ His breath got caught in his throat when he felt one of Aether’s hand abandoning the side of his leg only to grasp at his throbbing erection, the fingers around him finally stroking him. That effectively motivated the bassist to move in a quicker pace as he breathed sharply when Aether teased his slit. _

_ “Oh, fuck...” He let out between whimpers. _

_ Dewdrop scratched the guitarist’s chest when he slammed himself down and hit his prostate, repeating the move several times and filling the room with his whines, Aether’s groans and the sound of their skin slapping. _

_ “Dew, I’m gonna-, oh!” The guitarist moaned when Dewdrop clenched his walls around Aether’s cock. _

_ “Come...” He requested also close to the climax himself. The bassist felt the muscles of his thighs burn and grow tired, but he didn’t slow down, especially now that they were about to finish. “Come, Aether...” Dewdrop whispered once again. _

_ And it only took Aether a few seconds before he finally came inside the other, Dewdrop smirking victoriously when he felt himself filled, but quickly changing the expression on his flushed face as Aether picked up the pace of his strokes and made the bassist come on his hand. _

_ Dewdrop slowly rode the big ghoul for a few seconds before stopping and getting on his knee to rise from Aether’s lap, laying at his side with a leg over one of the guitarist’s. When they caught their breath again Aether dragged his pants up just to cover his now softened cock, not even bothering to zip up the trouser. He rolled onto his side and carefully observed Dewdrop’s face, moving away a damp lock of blonde hair across the small ghoul’s forehead. _

_ Aether looked down the other’s body and noticed his chest and stomach glistening with sweat, so he ran down a hand over that patch of sensitive skin until he reached Dewdrop’s hip and brought him up to lay on top of him. They didn’t plan to stay in the rehearsal room for much longer, but they decided to use that moment to enjoy the heat of their bodies pressed together and take in each other’s faces as much as they could. _

_ “Aether,” Dewdrop said after giving him a soft peck on the lips. “You said the feeling was mutual, but… How? What did you see in me?”  _

_ “I must confess that I’ve been curious to know more about you for quite some time now, but at first I only had in mind the idea of establishing a friendship with you.” _

_ “Oh, I know you’re very sociable.” They chuckled, but that was not a lie. Aether was very communicative and observant, what made it easier for him to approach most ghouls and siblings of sin. He was very dear to many and was always up to expand his social links. _

_ “Sure, but that day when we first played together-” he looked confused for a fraction of a second before arching his eyebrows in realization. “right here!” The guitarist pointed out, astonished, and Dewdrop smiled at him. “That was our first proper interaction and I soon realized the rumours about you were not true.” _

_ “Are you sure about that? From what I’ve heard they’re pretty realistic.” Dewdrop straightforwardly admitted. He was well aware of what people from the clergy thought of him. _

_ “No, I mean, not entirely?” Aether gingerly held the bassist’s chin, rubbing his thumb over the skin under the other’s bottom lip. “Yeah, you’re very impatient and short-tempered, and I understand why people might be frightened by you, but this is all superficial, Dew.” _

_ “What do you mean?” Frowning, he tilted his head, genuinely confused. _

_ “What do you know about aether ghouls?” _

_ Dewdrop wasn’t sure where Aether expected to go with that question, but he answered nonetheless. “Uh, not much really… I only know they’re everyone’s darlings with super psychic powers…?” He felt embarrassed for his lack of knowledge about other ghouls’ clans. _

_ “Oh, Satan!” Aether couldn’t help laughing at the other’s response, which only contributed to Dewdrop’s mortification, who pinched him on the sides, annoyed.  _

_ The guitarist yelped between giggles while wrapping his arms tightly around the small ghoul on top of him and kissed his forehead. Dewdrop gave up on fighting against Aether’s hug and accepted his fate before the big ghoul resumed talking. _

_ “It’s true that there’s some level of complexity in understanding our nature and potential, I can tell you more about this later, but now you just need to know that aether ghouls have great affinity with psychic energy. It’s a bad idea to lie to an aether ghoul because we can notice when there’s some disturbance in other’s energy.” _

_ “But then how you didn’t know I was falling for you too?” Dewdrop looked up at him with inquiring eyes. _

_ “Well, long story short, we’re not telepaths, I couldn’t read your mind, if that’s what you thought. Don’t worry, it’s a common assumption.” He chuckled when he noticed the bassist rolling his eyes in annoyance. “It’s just that I thought that the changes in your energy were directed towards Igni instead...” _

_ “Oh...” Dewdrop couldn’t blame Aether for thinking that since Igni was the closest to him. _

_ “Anyways, what I’m trying to say with all this energy talk is that I know you’re more than meets the eye. I feel that.” The guitarist smoothed Dewdrop’s hair while giving him a soft smile. “Besides, I may be an aether ghoul, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you objectively why I fell in love with you, however you caught my attention after all.” _

_ “But how do you know I won’t hurt you somehow? I always end up doing shit...” There was legit concern in his tone, Dewdrop knew exactly how flawed he was and was afraid that those flaws would intervene in their relationship at some point. _

_ “I can’t see the future, but you’re not a lost cause, I know you’re capable of becoming better. I say we should test the waters, what do you think?” _

_ Dewdrop looked into Aether’s eyes for a few moments, he understood that the other was willing to give him a chance and he shouldn’t disappoint his trust. If the guitarist believed that Dewdrop could become better, he should believe it himself too. “I will try my best.” He smiled and ducked down to lock their lips together, as if it meant a seal for their commitment. _

_ “I’m glad to hear that.” Aether soothingly replied when Dewdrop pulled away. _

_ Before they could think of doing anything more, they heard footsteps and chatter outside the practice room. _

_ “Oh, shit! We didn’t lock the door!” Dewdrop quickly got up and collected his trousers from the floor. _

_ “Okay, time to hurry up.” _

 

**_***_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic will be back to the usual timeline in the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this flashback, I thought it was important to show some of Dewdrop's past struggles.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission continues and Sister Imperator demands that it must be fully accomplished this time. Dewdrop has a plan, will it work?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the most important chapters of the fic and I was looking forward to sharing it with you!
> 
> Thanks to @mercyfull and @asellas for the beta work <3

“How long has he been there?” Breeze asked Water.

“I suppose since last night...” The bassist replied anxiously intertwining his fingers.

“I’m afraid we shouldn’t disturb him.” 

“It’s kind of hard to rehearse without the lead guitarist, but I must agree,” Blizzard added.

The three of them were a few steps away from the door of Dewdrop’s room. They had decided to check on him because no one had seen the guitarist since the night before. They expected him to show up to practice later that afternoon, but after waiting for almost an hour they realized that he probably would not join them. Aether was behaving weird too, he was late for the rehearsal, silent, and left the room several times while the others were still waiting for Dewdrop until he ultimately didn’t come back again.

No one knew what was going on, but they didn’t need details to understand that something had happened between the two guitarists. Despite not being sure if they should meddle with their business, the ghouls felt bad for their companions and, since they were all bonded at some level, Blizzard, Breeze and Water decided to look for Dewdrop while Earth and Multi looked for Aether. 

However, when the three ghouls arrived at the door of the lead guitarist’s room they were afraid to knock and cause some bad chain reaction. What if Dewdrop didn’t want to be disturbed? That was likely the case, and they didn’t want to worsen whatever was going on with him.

The ghouls exchanged worried looks before Blizzard nodded to Breeze, so the short ghoulette carefully stepped closer to the door and was about to knock at it when they heard an unlocking sound coming from the inside. They gasped in surprise and quickly grouped back together eagerly waiting for Dewdrop to leave the room.

He opened the door just a bit and furtively peeked through the crack, tired reddish eyes observing the other three ghouls outside. 

“Dew! How do you feel?” Blizzard tried to sound sympathetic, but she was actually nervous about how the ghoul would respond. She knew he wasn’t one for chit-chats, but she truly worried for him.

The small ghoul didn’t reply to her, instead he dropped his gaze to the floor. Once again the other three exchanged concerned glances and Blizzard brought a fist to her chest while waiting for Dewdrop to say something.

Crestfallen, he finally stepped forward and closed the door behind him. He slowly looked up at them; the other ghouls felt uncomfortable as his expression of misery was evident even with him wearing a mask.. He walked towards them at a slow pace until he stopped in front of Breeze, who found herself confused. 

“Dewdrop?” She softly said and was caught by surprise when the guitarist pressed the forehead of their masks together and wrapped his arms around her.

It was very sudden to them, but Breeze returned the hug when she heard Dewdrop quietly sobbing. Soon Water and Blizzard joined them in a group hug, whispering words of comfort and reassurance, even if they didn’t know the exact reason for him to be feeling so sad. But one thing was certain: whatever had happened was really serious.

“Hey, it’s fine.” Blizzard slid a hand up and down the other’s back and frowned behind her mask when she felt him slightly trembling under her touch.

“Dew, can we help you somehow?” Water asked in a worried tone.

“Actually…” The fire ghoul pulled away from the hug and quickly glanced at the others before he let out a deep breath. “Yes, I need your help.”

 

***

 

Night had fallen and Dewdrop headed to the dungeons just like Sister Imperator commanded him to via text that morning. He was determined to put an end to a part of his nightmare that night even if it meant being sent back to hell, but at least it would be for doing the right thing.

When he arrived at the place he met the other mission ghouls and Sister Imperator, who had an impatient expression on her face. As the woman spotted him approaching the group, she smirked and raised an eyebrow. “I’m so glad to see you here with us once more, ghoul!” She clasped her hands together faking delight.

Dewdrop didn’t reply to her, but nodded slightly back at her and lined up with the others. He didn’t even notice he was standing right beside the leader, who looked down at the guitarist and grunted. 

“So, as you all remember from our previous meeting, I made it clear that the next time you were sent to hunt down the fugitives should be the last, right?” She eyed the six ghouls.

“Yes, Sister.” They replied in one voice.

“Good. Now follow me.” 

She gestured with her hand and spun on her heels, walking to the next door which Dewdrop remembered very well was where the air ghoul that they captured on the first day was imprisoned. Once the memories of the captive came to his mind, the guitarist widened his eyes in concern of the state of the ghoul. Last time he saw him he was heavily injured, but at least started being fed.

When she pushed the door open and they entered the room, Dewdrop spotted the air ghoul sprawled on the floor and whimpering while turning his head from one side to the other. He looked like he was delirious. The guitarist clenched a fist and frowned in pity for the other’s deplorable conditions. 

“Look at me, ghoul.” Imperator kicked the captive’s legs to catch his attention. He glanced at her and mumbled some incoherent words. “Oh, well, it looks like our fellow friend has broken. How sad, right on the day he was going to be released.”

_ Released? _ Dewdrop tilted his head in confusion, he wasn’t sure he heard it right. Sister didn’t plan to free the ghoul, not that he knew of. Was that one of her new mind games? It seemed like the vocalization of that exact word had some impact on the prisoner because he stopped mumbling and slowly turned his face to her direction. 

Satisfied for capturing his attention, Imperator smiled softly at him. “I’m sure you want your freedom back, don’t you?”

Trembling, the ghoul made some effort to sit up and scooted closer to Sister’s feet. She stepped back to prevent him from touching her. “You were very collaborative with us before. I appreciate your disloyalty towards your old friends.” She snapped her fingers and the leader approached them. “Care to free this poor soul for us?” She patted the fire ghoul on his back and he nodded.

Dewdrop watched everything unfold before his eyes with confusion and curiosity, but he knew he couldn’t trust Sister Imperator’s word when he saw the leader crouching down and slipping a dagger from his waistband. The guitarist’s only reaction at the sight of the blade cutting open the skin of the air ghoul’s throat was to drop his jaw and widen his eyes in disbelief and shock. 

He wasn’t expecting that.

“W-what did you do?!” He finally was able to speak still looking terrified at the dead body at the feet of Sister Imperator.

Noticing the panicky tone of Dewdrop’s voice, the woman threw him a stern glance. “Should I remind you of the purpose of this mission,  _ ghoul _ ?” Her voice sounded threatening. “They all must die and tonight is your last chance to deal with the other two that you let escape through your fingers because of your incompetence.” She stepped closer to him with every word that left her mouth, her gaze never moving away from the small ghoul. 

Imperator was just a bit shorter than Dewdrop, but once she was face to face with him he felt her presence grow in density, he tensed up and froze in his spot. A ghoul being intimidated by a human being, who could ever imagine? But Imperator was not a regular human, she had so much knowledge and manipulation in her favour.

However, Dewdrop still had to stick to his determination. He didn’t dare to move and couldn’t lose his temper right now, especially in front of Imperator; that’d mean his end once and for all. He made extra effort to calm down and do as he was told. Soon the nightmare would be over.

Or at least, that’s what he wanted to believe.

The guitarist took a deep breath and relaxed his posture. “I remember our goal,” he said to the woman before him, who smuggly smiled at him.

“Good, ghoul. Good...” She turned to face the others in the room and nodded towards the exit. “C’mon. The sooner this ends the better.”

They followed her and Dewdrop instinctively glanced at the dead ghoul as he passed by him, immediately regretting doing so. He looked ahead and gulped, suddenly feeling nauseous. He had no idea what they would do with the body later and he was afraid to find out.

Sister led them to a clean room with stone walls. There were two circles, one with the sigil of Baphomet for the mission ghouls and the other with a circled dot for their leader. Dewdrop hated how it felt to be summoned back and forth, but he knew there was no other way.

 

***

 

Dewdrop hurried to find the earth ghoul as soon as they arrived at the same forest as last time, but it was hard to track his smell after the rain from a few nights before. However, Dewdrop had been aware of that fact earlier and Blizzard prepared him a potion that could enhance his sense of smell for a few hours.

He drank it before leaving for the mission that night, so when he took from his pocket the same piece of cloth that Sister Imperator handed him on the first day and sniffed it, he felt the smell getting stronger. His nostrils twitched, his head turning in the direction of the source of the scent and it reminded him from his time hunting in Hell, so he shook his head as if to get rid of that memory.

The ghoul ran fast through the trees, his heart racing in his chest as he felt hot blood flowing through his body like he’d not felt in years. Since he’d joined the clergy there was no need for his predatory abilities, so feeling this kind of adrenaline again left him astonished. 

The smell grew stronger when Dewdrop approached a cave with a fallen tree blocking the entrance. He stopped in his tracks and hid behind a tree while he observed his surroundings, but he was alone. There was no sight of another ghoul and he could only smell small animals nearby. The fire ghoul carefully stepped closer to the cave and saw no other way to enter it other than crawling under a small gap between the log and the ground.

With his clothes full of dirt, Dewdrop was finally inside the cave. It was dark and humid and he had to watch his steps to prevent himself from slipping on the sludge. Realizing he wouldn’t be able to see further, the ghoul went back to the entrance and grabbed a branch that was laying on the ground. He then touched the nearest wall of stone in search for a dry spot and, when he found it, he forced his claws out and scratched the stone quickly, the friction creating a spark that lit the branch like a torch.

Being half fire ghoul granted him the ability to control fire under some circumstances, so he used his affinity with the element to keep the flame on without burning the whole branch. With caution, he walked in the direction of where the strong scent was coming, despite knowing that the firelight flickering on the walls of the cave announced his presence.

His heartbeat was loud in his ears at every step he took, calming only when he stopped. He looked up when he felt the cave tremble slightly, small rocks detaching from the ceiling and clattering to the ground. This distracted Dewdrop for a moment, and it was then that the earth ghoul emerged from the shadows and struck. He fell to the ground and knocked the back of his head hard against the stones, making him drop the branch as the fugitive straddled him and quickly pulled a knife from his robe.

“WAIT!” The fire ghoul shouted before the other could attack him again, firmly grabbing the earth ghoul’s wrists. “I’M HERE TO HELP YOU!” He knew it’d be hard for the other ghoul to believe in him, especially because he knew that Dewdrop was involved in the attack at their shack that week, but he had to try.

Dewdrop struggled to keep the blade away from his chest, so he hurried to convince the ghoul to stop. “You remember me, right? I swear I’m here to help you, I have a plan! Please, trust me!”

“How could I trust you? Are you just trying to delay me while your friends arrive? It’s not going to work!” The ghoul said between clenched teeth, using more of his force to lower the knife, but Dewdrop was stronger than he looked.

“They’re not my friends! This is a big misunderstanding, I’m on your side and right now I’m your only hope. Please, stop and listen to me!” 

“NO!” The earth ghoul’s eyes, full of anger and despair, shone a greenish colour before the inside of the cave started shaking again and Dewdrop felt the ground below him cracking.

The flame still burning beside them flickered for an instant, almost extinguishing, then it suddenly expanded and made the earth ghoul flinch in surprise. Dewdrop took advantage of the other’s distraction and knocked the knife away from the ghoul’s hand, immediately removing his own mask to reveal his face to the fugitive.

“Trust me.” And the fire extinguished.

The earth ghoul’s eyes widened in shock when he saw Dewdrop’s face, finding himself petrified by the other’s attitude. “I’m a band ghoul and the clergy sent me on this mission against my will.” The guitarist finally spoke, trying to keep his voice calm. “I’m no murderer, but they tried to blackmail me. I’m so sorry for everything that happened to your friends… I feel terrible, this mission is killing me from the inside and I can’t even begin to imagine the dimension of your pain.” 

He was being sincere. Dewdrop, who was in a theoretical position of advantage, felt bad enough about the course of the mission, let alone the ghoul who was being chased. “I want to help you, but we don’t have much time and unfortunately I found a way to save only you. I suppose you know what this means...” While they talked the other fugitive was being hunted. Perhaps he was already dead by that time.

Dewdrop went silent and waited for the earth ghoul to digest his words. He knew it was too much all at once, but they were running out of time, soon the others would find them and Dewdrop hoped it’d be only after he put his plan into action.

The other ghoul silently got up and stepped back, his eyes never leaving Dewdrop, who carefully stood up too. “Tell me your plan.” The fugitive said, his voice harsh, but low.

“I don’t have time to tell you every detail, but I’m gonna perform a spell that will make the others believe that I killed you. This is your opportunity to escape as far as possible and later I will summon you.”

“What? That doesn’t make sense.” The ghoul shook his head in confusion, he thought that Dewdrop was being delusional.

“Yes, it does, I swear! I’ve been trying to find ways to help you, there are a few spells we can try and-”

“Try?” He interrupted the fire ghoul. “So you can’t guarantee that this will work?”

“No. I can’t.” Dewdrop confessed, worried that his honesty would lead to the ghoul giving up on his help. “But I’m willing to try and face the consequences. I couldn’t think of anything else, sorry. But please, give me a chance.” He pleaded. Instead of lying and saying he had the perfect plan, Dewdrop wanted to be as transparent as possible.

The earth ghoul kept silent for a few moments, pondering about his situation and the guitarist’s words. “I guess I’m in no position to deny any help. I’m going to die sooner or later and all my friends are already dead...” He said, sorrowful, the death of his companions weighing in his heart. However, he didn’t have many options after all.

“Will you let me help you?” Dewdrop gently asked, hopeful that the other would accept his proposition.

“Fine.”

“Thank you.” A sudden feeling of relief washed part of his worries away, but they still had much to do before the ghoul was finally safe. “Alright, we need to hurry! The others won’t take too long to find us,” Dewdrop informed him, while taking a piece of charcoal from his pocket. He started drawing an oval shape on the stone wall, words in the language of ghouls and an ankh cross in the middle, large enough for the earth ghoul to fit.

“Stand there with your arms open.” The guitarist instructed the other, who obeyed. His frame matched the height and length of the cross. “The next step is sort of painful.” He said as he crouched to grab the ghoul’s knife, which was lying on the ground next to them. “I need to cut your hands.” He looked up at the other, waiting for his consent.

“Just do it.” The ghoul nodded without hesitation.

Dewdrop appreciated his cooperation and approached the fugitive, cutting a straight line in each palm, the ghoul didn’t even flinch. The guitarist asked him to turn his hands so the bleeding palms would be touching the wall, trails of blood dripping down the stone.

Taking a deep breath, Dewdrop recalled the spell that Blizzard taught him earlier that day, an enchantment in the language of ghouls. “ _ Dikratio a dalka ukkan vu dollu dana va avdolva. Ghair, ukkatio ko kiu urnu. Mallu. Rovukcu. _ ” ** ~~*~~** He said while pressing a hand to the forehead of the ghoul’s mask.

Nothing seemed to happen. There was no disturbance in the air, no earthquake, nothing. Dewdrop wasn’t sure if it was supposed to work like that and the other ghoul found himself confused too. “I don’t feel anything.” The fugitive said. “Did you say the right words?”

“I’m pretty sure I did...” The spell wasn’t hard to memorize and Blizzard made sure that Dewdrop learnt it correctly, but the guitarist couldn’t help feeling disappointed at himself. He didn’t have a plan B in case of a failure, but he had to keep his calm and put his brain to think a bit more.

He then let go of the other’s mask and stepped back, paying attention to the drawing on the wall. When the earth ghoul walked forward he immediately clutched at his chest, feeling a sharp pain. “Ugh.” He whimpered, his bleeding hand staining his dark robe.

“Are you okay?” Dewdrop promptly reached the ghoul and that was the moment they heard a thud near the wall, so they looked in the direction of the drawing.

“What is that…?” The earth ghoul asked dumbfounded when his eyes spotted a familiar frame lying on the ground.

His body.

“I guess the spell worked.” Dewdrop smiled to himself, sighing in relief.

“W-what…? I felt my heart being torn apart just now, it was so weird. What the hell did just happen?!”

“Calm down. It’s a puppet. I suppose it was coexisting in the same space as you right at that spot, so when you stepped away the fake body detached from you.” It made sense to Dewdrop now. 

When Blizzard was teaching him the conjuration she showed him the illustrations in a book. It wasn’t a very detailed representation of the spell, but it did show two bodies: one was drawn in thick red lines and it represented the real ghoul, the other body had a light shade of red, almost as if it was fading, and was supposed to be the puppet. The real frame was overlapping the fake one, looking almost like a cell division.  “This body is a very realistic replica of yours, it has the same organs, your smell and your blood, but it can’t move on its own. It’s the perfect way to fake a dead body.”

There was no need for ghouls summoned by the clergy to practice sorcery, it was something that only a few hellish ghouls did, mostly aether and earth clans, but even in hell they were not well known. Dewdrop was curious to know why the clergy kept those books in their library if only ghouls were able to perform the spells. He also wanted to know who exactly wrote the books, since there was no author specified and they looked handmade. 

He’d have to investigate this further in another time, now he should focus on sticking to his plan.

“Oh, I see now…” The earth ghoul commented, still surprised by the result of the spell.

“Show me your hands.” Dewdrop asked and took a small tube from the inside of his jacket. He squeezed the tube and coated his finger with the clear ointment that came out of it, spreading the cream over the cuts of the ghoul’s palms. “Done. This will heal the cuts pretty quick and hide the smell of your blood. Now run.” The guitarist moved away and looked for the mask he had removed earlier, putting it on once more. “Run as fast as you can, hide and wait. I won’t be back, but I will summon you by the morning.” He said as he cleaned the symbols on the wall.

“Why do you need to summon me anyways?”

Smelling the other mission ghouls approaching the cave, Dewdrop didn’t have time to explain any more details. “There are other spells we need to cast on you before you can be free. Please, just trust me and go!” He fiercely motioned for the ghoul to leave.

“There’s another exit at the bottom of the cave.” The ghoul mentioned while he decided which escape route he’d pick.

“Shit, just hurry up!” Dewdrop uttered, irritated by the other’s delay. He didn’t want the plan to be ruined right now.

The ghoul nodded one last time and ran into the darkness of the cave’s depth.

Dewdrop had kept the other’s blade purposely and he quickly kneeled beside the puppet, the knife hovering over the throat. He gulped, even if the body in front of him wasn’t real, he hesitated before cutting the skin open. The guitarist let out a gasp when the blood gushed over his mask, his eyes widening and his heart beating fast.

He hadn’t taken the life of a being in ages. 

“You are not real.” He whispered to himself as he stabbed the heart of the puppet, one, two, three times. “You’re not alive.” He plunged the knife in the middle of the body’s stomach and dragged it down. “I’m no murderer.” 

He dropped the blade next to him, feeling nauseous at the image before his eyes. Gruesome, but it was not even close to the worst he had seen in the past. A past that he thought he had freed himself from.

“Did you do this?” A deep voice asked.

Dewdrop looked at the cave’s entrance and found the mission ghouls staring at him and he slowly nodded. Truth be told, he was experiencing a sudden shock for injuring the puppet. It was too realistic. “Yes.” He said.

Then he noticed one of the ghouls carrying a corpse. It was the other fugitive. It pained his heart, but there wasn’t anything else he could have done. 

“Who would’ve guessed that you would be brave enough to kill one of yours?” The mission leader approached him, curiously looking at Dewdrop and the body on the ground. He crouched and, before the guitarist could say anything, the ghoul stuck a hand inside the cut on the puppet’s stomach, grabbing the guts and pulling them out.

Dewdrop instinctively turned his face. “Uh?” The leader noticed his behaviour. “Aren’t you proud of what you did?” He offered the entrails to the guitarist who reluctantly looked in the direction of the ghoul.

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments and the leader motioned for the other ghouls to approach them, Dewdrop feeling threatened and tensing his body. 

“May we eat him?” Another ghoul asked and the leader nodded, his eyes still locked on Dewdrop’s.

The small ghoul avoided looking at the others while they eagerly bit chunks of flesh from the puppet’s body. The leader took a bite of the guts just to tease him, chewing it, swallowing it. “Won’t you taste your prey, ghoul?” He offered the viscera to him again.

 “No. I killed him, my job here is done.” He cautiously stood up and so did the leader.

“Celebrate the victory with us,  _ ghoul _ .” The ghoul’s tone was intimidating and demanding despite his choice of words.

“I just want to return to the Abbey.” Dewdrop tried to walk past the leader, but he placed a hand on the guitarist’s shoulder, his grip firm.

“The years in the clergy softened you. You may have killed one ghoul, but you’d not survive in hell again, at least not anymore.”

“I don’t need to think about it since I’m living here on the surface.”

“For how long, though?”

Dewdrop tilted his head in confusion. What did the other mean? Was the ghoul just baffling him or there was something more behind his words? The guitarist just wanted to leave as soon as possible. They had the ghouls killed, why prolong the stay?  

“Eat it.” The leader said again, his voice now harsher and his hand tightening the hold on the small ghoul’s shoulder.

“Stay away from me.” Dewdrop frowned behind his mask, his eyes serious and piercing the other’s.

“I’m the leader of this mission and I demand you fucking eat this.” 

Dewdrop felt the ghoul’s claws coming out and digging into the skin of his shoulder, tearing the fabric of his jacket. He then yanked his shoulder away, but the other ghoul was faster and violently hit his mask, his claws leaving deep trails on the metal. The impact made Dewdrop lose balance and step back, his back hitting the stone wall. He looked up at the leader and heard the others emitting surprised sounds when they paused devouring the puppet to pay attention to what was happening.

“Weak.” The leader spat on the ground. “You’re so frail, small, useless. What is a ghoul without their horns?”

_ Horns? _ Dewdrop led a hand to the top of his mask and felt the absence of his left horn, which had fallen next to his feet. He widened his eyes in shock. Losing a real horn in hell practically meant damnation once the ghoul lost half of their elemental abilities. It was a sign of shame and weakness.

The metal masks that surface ghouls wore served as a conductor of their energy if kept nearby, but breaking a horn had the same impact as it had in hell.

“You’d be dead by now if you were in hell.” The leader resumed talking.

“STOP!” 

Dewdrop felt his blood boiling in his veins and he mindlessly threw himself against the ghoul, trying to tear the other’s flesh with his claws, but the leader quickly dodged his advances, chuckling while saying, “You’re no fire, you’re no water. You’re nothing!”

“I AM WHO I AM!” The guitarist yelled and missed the attack, too angry to think straight. The leader took this moment to stab his side using his own hand as a blade.

“Ugh!” Dewdrop stopped and placed a hand on the cut, trying to stanch the blood.

There was a loud gasp from the other ghouls watching them, but no one dared to interrupt their confrontation. The leader approached him again and held his chin, forcing the guitarist to look up at him. “Too weak for hell, too savage for earth. You belong nowhere!” He spat on his mask.

“SHUT UP!”

Dewdrop launched himself forward, knocking the ghoul to the floor and closed both hands around the other’s throat, using all of his strength to strangle him. He couldn’t hold back anymore, he had lost his mind. If the leader had not taunted him this wouldn’t have happened. He knew that he couldn’t trust any word that came out from the other’s mouth, he knew they were all lies, but deep inside they still hurt him and part of himself still believed in them.

The ghoul struggled beneath him trying to take Dewdrop’s hands away from his neck, but the guitarist’s grip was too firm and the leader felt like his larynx had just shattered. Dewdrop madly stared into his eyes, which were already red by now, rolling back into his skull. The ghoul was giving up on fighting as he felt his life fading away, Dewdrop’s claws now cutting deep into his flesh.

But then he stopped.

Dewdrop let go of the other’s neck and looked at his fingers covered in blood, his hands shaking due a mix of adrenaline and fear. He couldn’t believe what he just did. He tried to convince himself that he was not a murderer yet he almost killed a real ghoul this time. Almost. If it were not for a last drop of sanity left in his mind...

He found himself on the verge of tears; he wanted to scream and run away, disappear from the clergy’s radar.

Just like the fugitives had done.

There would be a deadly silence in the cave if it was not for the leader struggling for air. Dewdrop slowly stood up, his whole body shaking. He turned to face the others and the ghouls winced, their eyes roaming from the guitarist to the leader.

“Someone carry him,” Dewdrop finally was able to say and one of the ghouls promptly volunteered, too scared to object. “Let’s go back.”

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Duplicate the body on earth as in hell. Ghoul, abdicate your soul. Die. Reborn.
> 
> I'd appreciate if you share your thoughts on this chapter <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission is finally over, but Dewdrop is hurt and needs to take care of his injuries. So the fire ghoul seeks help from his friends while he waits for the right time to follow the next step of his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the longest chapter, but I think it wouldn't work as well if the scenes were splitted. I've been looking forward to posting this and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too! It's soooft and important for the development of the relationship between two specific characters <3
> 
> Thanks to @mercyfull and @asellas for the beta work <3
> 
> (P.s.: Flashback in italic)

_ Papa Nihil had just concluded the mass, Siblings of Sin and nameless ghouls left the nave in groups or pairs, the sound of low chattering filling the place, but not being an actual disturbance. Dewdrop, on the other hand, exited the room alone and growled at a Brother of Sin that accidentally bumped into him. _

_ “S-sorry!” The guy promptly apologized. _

_ “Pay attention next time, fucker!” He huffed, grumpy, shoving his hands into his pockets and heading towards the stairs.  _

_ The small ghoul noticed the others murmuring and casting glances at him while he walked past them, but he just couldn’t care less and shrugged it off. He then felt a hand on his shoulder when he was going up the stairs, so he rolled his eyes and angrily turned to face the other person. “What now?” He immediately recognized the eyes behind the mask, it was the earth ghoul he’s been talking to lately. “Oh...”  _

_ “Do you have a moment?” The ghoul asked, not looking distressed by the other’s hostility. _

_ Dewdrop nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed for the way he talked just now. He followed the ghoul outside, both silent until they reached a small hut at the back of the Abbey’s garden. Dewdrop had never been there before, so he found himself confused yet curious to know why the ghoul brought him there. _

_ When they entered the place Dewdrop’s eyes roamed the inside of the hut, his attention being drawn by the several colourful stones in the shelves. “What is this place?” _

_ “Some earth ghouls come here to study rocks and stones.” The ghoul quietly replied as he approached a table with old manuscripts, a lamp, magnifying glass and many other small objects that Dewdrop couldn’t recognize. _

_ “And why did you bring me here?” He didn’t want to purposely sound rude or impatient, but he was still confused. After all, Dewdrop had never shown any interest in rocks. _

_ “I just wanted to give you this.” The ghoul searched for something over the table and turned to face Dewdrop again when he found it, reaching out a hand for the small ghoul. _

_ The earth ghoul held a blue stone big enough to fit on his palm and offered it to Dewdrop, who hesitated for an instant before taking it. He curiously analysed the piece, which had an incredible saturated shade of blue, and also noticed golden trails on the surface.  _

_ “It's lapis lazuli and it reminds me of you.”  The ghoul commented and Dewdrop looked up at him tilting his head. _

_ “How come?” _

_ “I mentally made a connection between the colours and your elements.” He shrugged off, nonchalantly. “Blue representing water and gold representing fire.” _

_ “A bit of a stretch, don’t you think?” The small ghoul snorted. He actually didn’t know what to think about that situation. He never imagined the other to call him to observe stones, so it felt odd to him. _

_ “Does it matter?” The ghoul sounded a bit offended, he expected Dewdrop to show some interest. “Do you like it or not?” _

_ Dewdrop rolled the stone in his palm a few times as if he was still deciding his thoughts on it. “Yeah, it looks cool.” _

_ The ghoul hummed, satisfied with the other’s response. “Keep it then.” _

_ “Are you sure? Won’t you need it for some research?” _

_ “No, you can have it.” _

_ “Okay.” He slipped the stone into his pocket and waited for the other to continue talking, but they just stood there in silence for a few moments staring at each other. “Uh, do you need me for something else?” Dewdrop finally asked, scratching his nape uncertain of what to do. _

_ “I don’t.” The ghoul simply responded. _

_ “Eh… Can I go now?” _

_ “Yes?” He said as if the answer was obvious. _

_ “Alright.” Dewdrop nodded and walked towards the exit, stopping by the door frame to awkwardly wave at the earth ghoul. “Hm, see ya.”  _

_ The small ghoul found everything too weird and wondered if it was a common thing for earth ghouls to do, gifting people stones. The lapis lazuli looked nice, but he didn’t know what exactly to do with it. Was it for decoration purposes only?  _

_ Maybe he could ask the ghoul another time. _

 

***

 

“What is the meaning of this?!” Sister Imperator asked when she saw a ghoul carrying the leader over his shoulder, then carefully laying him on the floor.

Dewdrop had some difficulty breathing due the wound on his side, but he tried his best to keep his composure, straightening his back, chin up. “We had a fight, Sister.” He honestly informed.

“Oh, you two?” She arched an eyebrow. “So you finally decided to give in to your feral side again, uh?” The woman had a cynical smirk on her face, but Dewdrop refused to answer her. “I’m glad to know you found your place in the mission, even if it was a bit late.” 

She glanced again at the leader, who was twitching in pain, and sighed in annoyance. “Take him to the infirmary.” The ghoul who was carrying him complied, leaving the room. “So, is the job done?”

“Yes.” Dewdrop replied and the other ghouls nodded.

“It’s true, Sister. The ghouls are all dead.” One of them said.

“Good. I knew you’d be able to accomplish the mission, ghouls.” She smiled, satisfied with the result. “And you,” Imperator placed a hand on Dewdrop’s shoulder and the guitarist looked into her eyes. “I thought you’d fail, but it seems like luck was on your side this time.”

The small ghoul didn’t say anything, he just swallowed dry realizing the menacing tone in the woman’s voice. “Is there anything else I must do?” He asked.

“Hm…” She went thoughtful for a few seconds, tilting her head as she scanned the damage done on his mask, noticing the broken horn. “You need a new mask, ghoul.” The guitarist looked down, feeling suddenly ashamed and exposed. “But it’s too late in the night, we should perform the ritual by morning. You’re dismissed now, meet me in my office before the mass.”

Dewdrop nodded and started walking towards the exit, however the woman called him one last time.

“You should take care of your wounds. It’d be too unfortunate for the band to cancel dates because of an injured guitarist.”

“Roger.” And he finally left the room.

 

***

 

Dewdrop headed straight to the dorms. He felt exhausted but also grateful for part of his plan had been successful, so for the first time since the mission began, he was sure that his nightmare would soon be over. He finally stopped before one of the doors in the corridor and weakly knocked on it twice. Maybe he was actually more tired than he imagined to be.

He heard footsteps from the other side, seconds later the door was open and Dewdrop was greeted by a concerned Multi. 

“Dew!” The ghoul’s face showed a sign of relief for a fraction of an instant before noticing the other’s damaged mask as Dewdrop stepped forward just to collapse in his arms. “What the hell?!” Multi carefully tried to support Dewdrop’s weight to keep him standing and frowned when his hand touched a large wet spot on the lead guitarist’s side. “You’re bleeding...”

“Yeah.” Dewdrop faintly chuckled and nuzzled Multi’s chest, trying not to worry the other so much. “I will be fine soon.”

“I’ll take you to the infirmary, you can’t stay like this!”

“No… Not the infirmary, I don’t trust anyone else right now.” Dewdrop said in a low tone and felt Multi’s chest rising and falling as he let out a sigh.

Dewdrop expected Multi to bring him inside his room, but Multi closed the door behind them instead, placing one arm around the small ghoul’s back and the other under the bend in his knees, picking him up and keeping him close to his body. Dewdrop gasped in surprise and instinctively wrapped his arms around Multi’s neck.

“What are you doing?!” He asked, confused.

“We need to take care of your wound.” Multi replied while carrying him to the next door in the corridor, kicking at the lower half of it since his hands were busy. “Earth, open up, please!” He kicked the door again when he didn’t obtain a response. “C’mon, dude!” The ghoul whined.

“No pot for you this week, Multi!” They heard Earth’s sleepy voice followed by a yawn.

“Earth, this is a serious matter! Open the door!” He insisted, impatiently walking from one side to the other with Dewdrop in his arms.

They heard the drummer grunting and unlocking the door. “Leave me alone- Oh, Satan!” He said as he opened the door and saw the state of Dewdrop. 

Multi immediately entered the room, Earth stepping aside to get out of his way. The drummer was still confused about what was going on, but he realized it was, indeed, a serious issue, especially when he looked down at the droplets of blood staining his carpet. He closed the door and observed Multi carefully placing Dewdrop on his bed.

“Dewdrop…” Earth awkwardly asked while approaching them. “Are you okay? I mean, I can see you’re hurt, I suppose you’re not completely fine, I just-”

“Don’t worry, Earth. I’ve had worse injuries.” Dewdrop’s faint smile was visible thanks to the hole in the mouth of his mask, trying to convince the taller ghoul that he wasn’t as bad as he looked.

“I brought him here because I thought maybe you could have some powerful medicine.” Multi told Earth. He was kneeling beside the bed and placing a warm hand over Dewdrop’s thigh.

Humming, the drummer mentally searched for something that could be helpful. “Oh, I might have, just give me some time to prepare it.” He walked in the direction of the counter against one of the walls. There were several apparatuses over the surface, containers with oil, leaves, branches, among other things extracted from plants.

“Thanks. I knew we could count on you.” Multi said, not teasing the drummer for once, which made Earth feel a tingling sensation on his cheeks while he opened the lid of a container to get some dry leaves. Multi turned his attention back to Dewdrop and asked, “What about your plan? Did it work?”

“So far so good. I must properly thank Blizzard when I have the chance.”

“I’m relieved to know that.” Multi sighed and rubbed the other’s thigh in reassurance. “Did you talk to Aether about it already?”

Dewdrop averted his eyes, glancing at a spot on the wall he was facing. “Not really...” He knew sooner or later he’d have to reveal the truth to Aether, especially now that all of his other bandmates were already introduced to his struggles, even if partially.

Multi realized that Dewdrop wasn’t comfortable talking about that issue at the moment; he had just returned from the mission and, judging by all the damage, he’d been through a harsh time. He deserved a break. “I see.” Not wanting to drag the topic on, Multi stood up, brushing dirt off his knees. “Well, you do what you think is right. I’m glad to know you trusted us to help you with the matter nonetheless.”

“I don’t wanna sound cheesy, and this might be just fatigue speaking louder, but…” Dewdrop looked up at the other, fighting what was left of pride in his heart and said, “Thank you, Multi. You and the others helped me a lot, you have no idea.”

“Aw, it’s so cute to see you allowing yourself to show gratitude. You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” If the small ghoul wasn’t too hurt Multi definitely would have given him a tight hug. He grinned and held Dewdrop’s hand instead, squeezing it lightly. Though his soft demeanor soon changed as Multi drastically lowered the tone of his voice and tilted his head to one side, staring at the other with a glisten of lust in his eyes. “Remember just a few days ago you thanked me for fucking yo-”

“For Satan’s sake!” Earth, who had been listening to the conversation the whole time while preparing the medicine, said. He turned to face the other two and, despite his mask, he had an obvious annoyed expression. “Are you two even serious? Dewdrop is gravely injured and you still manage to flirt in this situation? Gross.” He gave them accusatory looks.

Multi glanced at him open mouthed for a second. “What? You mad, dirt boy?” He playfully asked and laughed, amused by Earth’s reaction.

“Don’t call me that.” The drummer shook his head and snorted in annoyance.

“Multi, stop. I think you did enough.” Dewdrop was trying not to chuckle, he found the interaction funny, but didn’t want to make the drummer more uncomfortable than he already seemed to be.

“Alright, then. You’re such a party pooper, Earth.” Crossing his arms, Multi faked a disappointed tone.

“Whatever.” Earth rolled his eyes and turned back to the counter to resume what he was doing.

Multi and Dewdrop exchanged delighted glances before Multi finally walked in the direction of the door. “I will leave him under your care.” He said to the taller ghoul, who chose to ignore him. “Good night and don’t do anything I would not do.”

“Get out!” Earth whined, too bothered by the other’s presence. And to imagine he felt a hint of sympathy for the multi instrumentalist when he thanked him not long before.

Once Multi left the room, Dewdrop watched the drummer working on the medicine at the counter, seeing the exact moment when Earth lit a burner and placed a metallic pot onto it, stirring its content. The lead guitarist’s eyes travelled to the back of Earth’s head and he noticed the short orangish hair visible at the back since the ghoul wasn’t wearing his balaclava.

“So you’re ginger?” He commented. It was the first time he caught a glimpse of Earth’s hair. 

The taller ghoul immediately brought a hand to touch the hair on his nape as if forgetting his balaclava had been a mistake. He was getting ready to sleep when Multi knocked (or kicked) at his door earlier, so he only remembered to cover his face with the mask because he didn’t expect the encounter to last for so long.

“Oh, y-yes.” He shyly confirmed, suddenly feeling too exposed. 

Ghouls usually only revealed their faces to the ones they judged reliable. For some ghouls exposing even other body parts, like arms, neck or the hair, could mean a display of trust. Since Earth unintentionally showed his hair, Dewdrop felt a bit guilty for violating his privacy. Understanding the other’s discomfort, the small ghoul changed the subject.

“Uh, sorry for all the blood. I will help cleaning tomorrow.” The fire ghoul followed the track of droplets on the carpet to the bed sheets.

“Don’t worry about that.” Earth wiped his hands on a towel and left the counter. “You need to rest.” He approached the ghoul and couldn’t take his eyes off the damage on Dewdrop’s mask.

The guitarist noticed the other staring and, in an act of impulse, he removed his mask, too tired to bear the burden of the absence of a horn. He knew he wasn’t in hell anymore, but what happened to his mask still had a brutal impact on his confidence. He observed the mask on his hands, ashamed, and took a deep breath trying to contain the urge to shove it into a corner of the room.

Earth was caught by surprise, he’d never seen Dewdrop’s face before, and questioned himself whether he should avoid looking at the other since he didn’t know if the fire ghoul meant to trust him or if he just didn’t want to wear the mask anymore.

“Sorry...” He quietly said while gazing at the floor. “I didn’t mean to disrespect you.”

“I know you didn’t.” Sighing, the guitarist dropped the mask on the mattress, glanced up at the other and noticed how tense he was. “Earth, it’s okay to look.”

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes, I see I can trust you.”

The drummer’s eyes hesitantly focused on Dewdrop’s face, who had a tired expression at that moment, but Earth found himself amazed by the other’s features. Dewdrop looked much different from what he expected. The tall ghoul observed the slight hollow under his sharp cheekbones, his long, thin nose and small cut on his bottom lip, the dark circles under his eyes and reddish waterline. He also noticed the blonde eyebrows and long, straight hair that had been mussed when Dewdrop removed his mask along with his balaclava a minute ago. 

“I promise I look much cooler when I’m not all wrecked like this.” The guitarist playfully mentioned when he realized the long silence.

As if he had just woken from a trance, Earth blinked a few times and cleared his throat. Dewdrop had told him it was okay to look, but he felt like he had exceeded his time doing so. He then remembered the medicine he was preparing and turned his attention back to the counter, turning off the burner and stirring the content one last time.

“You know, I think it’d be better if you take a shower while this settles. Can you walk?” Earth asked.

“Yeah, I can. Multi was just showing off when he picked me up.” 

Dewdrop shrugged, fully confident of his capability of walking. He just didn’t acknowledge that the rush of adrenaline had already washed off from his system since he arrived at Multi’s door earlier that night. So by the time he tried to get up from Earth’s bed, he felt his knees faltering and his wounds pulsating. 

Noticing the guitarist’s trouble, the taller ghoul promptly approached him to help him stand. Dewdrop clung to the other’s shirt, head low and motionless. “I hate being a burden.” He muttered, not feeling comfortable enough to glance up and expose the miserable look on his face.

“You’re not a burden, Dewdrop.” Earth wasn’t a ghoul of many words and there was still much he had to learn about the lead guitarist, but he felt like he had to assure the other, so he pondered what he was going to say next. “It’s okay to allow yourself to be helped by others. I’m here to take care of you too, please don’t feel ashamed.”

“I know… It’s just that-” Dewdrop felt his heart clenching and a lump forming in his throat. He wished to be a more open ghoul, to be more transparent about his feelings, but he could only be like that in the presence of Aether.

However, Aether wasn’t there at the moment and Dewdrop was afraid that he’d not be for some time. The small ghoul started to realize that maybe he had been too emotionally dependent on the other, as much as it pained him accepting it. Dewdrop had never felt emotions so strong towards someone else before meeting Aether and, the fact that the rhythm guitarist accepted him and loved him back, made Dewdrop cling to their connection as if it was the only salvation for his own insecurities.

The drummer noticed the other struggling to keep talking, but he was aware that fire ghouls didn’t tend to easily accept help once it was considered a weakness. “I get it. Being raised in a fire clan can be harsh.” Earth gingerly squeezed Dewdrop’s arm in reassurance. “Let’s focus on your recovery for now.”

Nodding, the small ghoul exhaled in relief due to Earth respecting his emotional privacy. Dewdrop was growing fond of the drummer lately, but he still didn’t feel ready to open up so suddenly. Perhaps in the future, though…

The taller ghoul guided him into the bathroom. They approached the bathtub with a shower above it and Dewdrop sat on the edge. Earth wasn’t sure how to proceed from that moment, so he awkwardly stepped towards the door and said, “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Earth.” Dewdrop smiled at him as he started unbuttoning his jacket.

The drummer closed the door and his eyes roamed the room, spotting the blood trail on the carpet and over the mattress. He sighed, sad that his band mate had been badly injured. Despite both of them having joined the band together, Dewdrop was still a mystery to Earth. The tall ghoul admitted that, at the beginning, he actually feared interacting with the other, mostly because of Dewdrop’s poor reputation.

While he pondered about his thoughts on the lead guitarist, Earth headed to the wardrobe and searched for clean sheets so he could change the stained ones on his bed. He couldn’t recall many interactions between him and Dewdrop when they were still under the Emeritus III papacy. In fact, the small ghoul used to be closer to Igni and, later on, to Aether, whose intimate relationship with Dewdrop was known by all the band members shortly after.

Then, when Copia assumed the role of frontman of the band, things started to change little by little. Dewdrop’s behaviour didn’t let Earth down anymore since he realized that the ghoul wasn’t inherently bad, as many assumed, he just wasn’t the best at dealing with his emotions and could come across as aggressive sometimes. The good thing is that the fire ghoul was changing and becoming more friendly, and that didn’t go unnoticed by Earth.

Despite Earth being more reclusive, there were times when all the band ghouls would hang out together, usually when they wanted to explore attractions at a place they stopped by while touring. In occasions like that Earth would engage in some small conversation with the others, Dewdrop included, but nothing too profound. The drummer was satisfied enough knowing his band mates wouldn’t force him to do anything he wasn’t comfortable, except for Multi, who every now and then would put him in unpleasant situations. 

In the past week he got to see another side of Dewdrop, probably because the small ghoul was experiencing a moment of emotional vulnerability, but Earth felt like maybe the two of them could get along better than he’d expected. And that night Dewdrop had shown him his face, that could only mean that the guitarist thought the same as him. 

Everything seemed so strange to Earth, he couldn’t even remember the last time someone revealed their face to him or the other way around, but he was willing to show that he was worthy of Dewdrop’s trust and would be more open to work on their friendship from now on.

As he reflected about the matter, Earth also occupied himself cleaning the carpet and changing the bed sheets, carefully moving Dewdrop’s broken mask to the nightstand, trying not to look at it for too long in consideration for the ghoul. He then returned to the counter to finish the potion and, when he was almost done with it, he heard a thud coming from the bathroom. He widened his eyes, worried that maybe Dewdrop had slipped and fell on the floor, so he hurried to cross the room and didn’t think twice before entering the bathroom.

“Dewdrop?!” The first thing he saw was the guitarist’s silhouette through the almost completely transparent shower curtains around the bathtub. “Is everything okay?” The drummer asked as he opened the curtains.

Dewdrop was leaning forward, resting one hand on the wall and had his back to Earth, the water tracing thin lines down his body, from his head to his feet, until finally hitting the floor, splashing tiny water drops that joined into a reddish puddle near his feet.

“What happened?” Once again Earth asked, his tone was soft despite his concern.

Frowning and with trembling parted lips, the small ghoul looked over the same shoulder which the mission leader dug his claws into earlier. “My stupid body is leaving me in the lurch.” He faced the wall in front of him again and touched his injured side, looking down only to spot the blood on his hand.

“May I help you?” 

“I think I lost more blood than I expected.” Dewdrop turned off the tap. 

Earth gulped, nervous about the ghoul’s condition. He looked for the towel and handed it to Dewdrop. “Here. Press the wound with this.” 

The small ghoul nodded and did as he was told while the drummer hurried to find another towel to wrap around Dewdrop’s waist. Earth held the guitarist’s free hand and helped him get out of the bathtub, guiding him back to the bedroom and motioning for him to sit on the bed. Dewdrop noticed the clean sheets and wondered what a nuisance he was for soaking them when Earth had just changed them.

“Drink this.” The drummer gave him a cup filled with a hot reddish liquid with some thin dry branches inside.

Dewdrop took a sip and felt his throat burning as if he had just swallowed a thousand needles, what caused him to choke. “What is this?!” He wiped his mouth and looked up at Earth, frowning.

“Sorry, I know it feels terrible, but this will increase the production of red blood cells in your body. Please, drink everything.”

The guitarist grimaced, but he knew it was for his best, so he took a deep breath before drinking the whole thing in one go. He felt tears pricking his eyes, that definitely was not the kind of pain he enjoyed. He held out the now empty cup back to Earth and coughed a few times, feeling his injuries pulsating. “Fuck!” He reached to touch his side.

Without wasting more time, Earth grabbed a small box from the counter and approached the bed again. “Let me take a look.” The drummer knelt in front of Dewdrop, placing the box on the floor, and waited for his permission. 

When the small ghoul removed the towel he was using to press his wound Earth was able to have a good view of the many tattoos covering Dewdrop’s torso. He was impressed about the drawings and felt curious to know the story behind them. However, that would have to happen another time. He tilted his head in confusion as he saw the area around the wound on Dewdrop’s side darkening in a way that was not expected. 

“What?” Dewdrop asked when he noticed the other staring at his injury for too long.

“May I ask how you got this one?”

Dewdrop wasn’t ready to tell specific details about that night, so he pondered his words. “I… I got into a fight with another ghoul.”

“But what did the ghoul use to hurt you?”

“His own hand, I guess.” He tried to recall the moment he got hit. “Why?”

“Uh, is it okay if I touch you?” There was some anxiety in Earth’s voice. He didn’t want to be misinterpreted, but since he was not used to touch other people, he wasn’t aware of what was usually allowed or not. The drummer wanted to make sure that he wasn’t trespassing any boundaries. 

Appreciating Earth’s concern, Dewdrop softened his expression and smiled at the drummer before him. He found it cute how considerate the ghoul was. “Go ahead, take care of me.”

Earth felt his face heating up behind his mask, but he leaned forward to take a better look nonetheless. He carefully prodded the skin around the wound and noticed it was swollen and stiff. “Let me know if it hurts.”

“It does.”

“Sorry, hang on a little longer, please.”

“It’s fine, I enjoy it.”

The easily impressed drummer let out a small, involuntary gasp of surprise, he didn’t expect that disclosure, and Dewdrop failed to hide his smirk.

Putting away the distraction, Earth stood up to inspect the injury on the guitarist’s shoulder, noticing the same apparent features. He recognized that it was probably inflicted by claws and put his brain to work while Dewdrop eyed him, curious to understand what was going through the drummer’s mind.

As realization sunk in, Earth dropped on his knees again and reached for the box on the floor, searching for something. “As I suspected.” 

“Hm?” Dewdrop looked at him in confusion.

“You’ve been poisoned.” He mentioned while mixing herbs and ointment in a bow.

“How come?”

“Whoever attacked you probably had sunk their claws into poison or something. I don’t believe this is lethal, but it’s probably what’s causing you to feel weak. You’re tougher than you look and, to be fair, you’ve not had many terrible injuries. I knew there was something off.” Finishing the mix, he looked for a roll of bandage and when he glanced up again he spotted a huge grin on Dewdrop’s lips. “What?”

“You’re so smart. I see that I’m in good hands.” 

The guitarist reached out to pat the top of Earth’s mask as a form to show his gratitude, he felt both enchanted and surprised the more he got to know about his bandmate. Dewdrop regretted not having tried to approach the drummer sooner, he clearly missed many opportunities to befriend Earth. Overall the tall ghoul had a much different personality in comparison to Dewdrop’s, but the guitarist had positive expectations about the bond they could develop with time.

On the other hand, Earth let his shy demeanour come over again since his ears were not used to compliments, staying motionless and staring at Dewdrop with wide eyes. He couldn’t thank Satan enough for wearing a mask in that exact moment because he was fully aware of the redness taking over his face.

Blinking a few times, Earth looked away and nervously spoke, “Oh, hm… Right.” He cleared his throat. “W-well, you shouldn’t worry though. I have some herbs that can absorb the poison and hasten your recovery.” He showed the bowl to Dewdrop. “I’m going to apply this to your wounds now.”

Nodding, the small ghoul moved his arm away to give more room for Earth. The drummer carefully smeared the blend over the injury and Dewdrop immediately began to feel his skin cool and tingle.

“You do have a medicine for everything, don’t you?” The small ghoul asked while observing the other.

“Not everything, but uh, I try my best.”

“Why though? Do you get a lot of demand?”

“Kinda.” Earth cut a piece of bandage and covered the wound. When he was done he focused on the cuts on Dewdrop’s shoulder and repeated the procedure. “Many earth ghouls help crafting medicine for the clergy, so I’ve learned to do many things.”

“Interesting, that I didn’t know.”

“Well, it’s not like we’ve talked much before.” The drummer said without realising how bittersweet it sounded. Once he was done taking care of all the injuries he started collecting his belongings and putting them inside the box again before placing it over the counter.

“We can change that. I’d like to know more about you.” Dewdrop spoke softly. It was no joke, the guitarist was really open to try that. 

Earth glanced a him, flustered and scratching the back of his head. “Oh, hm… No one says that to me.” 

The small ghoul tried to keep a neutral look on his face, he wasn’t sure how the other would feel if he knew that Dewdrop felt sorry for him. “Their loss.” Dewdrop shrugged trying to act nonchalantly. He then dragged his body back on the mattress until his back was against the headboard. “Besides, I’m spending the night here so I have plenty of time to listen to you.” He smiled and patted the pillow beside him, inviting the ghoul to join him in the bed.

“No, you don’t have plenty of time.” Earth shook his head and scoffed. “It’s late, I’m sleepy and you should rest, you know that.” The drummer yawned, only Dewdrop couldn’t tell whether the ghoul did it to add a dramatic factor to the situation or because he was tired for real.

“Your choice.” Dewdrop lifted his hands in surrender.

“By the way, I should find something for you to wear.” 

“I don’t mind sleeping in a towel though.” The guitarist arched an eyebrow, a flirty grin on his face.

Earth looked at him taken aback. Of course he would not allow Dewdrop to sleep in his bed wearing a damp towel! It’d ruin his mattress and the guitarist could catch a cold. He wondered where the ghoul got that idea from. “No way!” 

“Why not? The sheets feel so good...” 

He rubbed his calves against said silky sheets, feeling the smooth texture against his skin. Dewdrop was impressed by Earth’s bed overall, it was huge and comfy, he’d never seen such a large bed before, it could fit so many ghouls! The guitarist couldn’t hold back his imagination and thought that the bed was perfect for orgies. He felt curious to know if the drummer would be open to the idea, but he could ask him another time.

“Oh my Satan, no!”

“Fine. Can I borrow your clothes then?” Dewdrop asked, pouting and sighing in defeat.

Earth nodded and approached his wardrobe, searching for a change of clothes. As he picked the pieces he realized that maybe they would not fit the guitarist well. “Uh, sorry, I think they’re all too large for you, but here, try these.” He handed the pile to Dewdrop.

When the small ghoul got up, Earth expected him to head to the bathroom to get dressed, but he stood beside the bed instead with his back to the drummer. Dewdrop then tossed his towel aside, revealing his pale bare skin while he grabbed the black long-sleeved shirt and observed it for a few seconds before wearing it. Earth widened his eyes in surprise when he saw the naked ghoul before him and quickly turned his whole body to the opposite side, frozen in his spot and waiting for the other to finish getting dressed.

Earth was way taller than him and it was made clearer when Dewdrop looked down his own body just to spot the brim of the shirt reaching close to his knees. That wouldn’t happen even when he wore Aether’s shirts. He then put on the underwear and spotted a pair of cacti socks placed on top of the folded trousers. Trying to understand what his eyes were seeing, he blinked a few times and looked closely at the socks, letting out a soft chuckle.

“Earth?” He called and only then noticed the tall ghoul facing the other way. “Uh?”

“What?” The drummer asked without moving.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you dressed already?”

His exhibisionist side made Dewdrop completely oblivious to the fact that maybe Earth would feel embarrassed at the sight of his naked body. It was already something completely natural for the guitarist and many of other ghouls he knew, but he realized that not everyone would have the same reaction to that, so he mentally scolded himself for being unmindful. “Yeah. You can look now.”

The drummer turned to face him and saw Dewdrop holding the pair of socks as if he was waiting for an explanation. “Don’t you sleep with socks on?” Earth shyly asked, it was a habit he’d acquired when he joined the Clergy when he realized that keeping his feet warm provided him a good night of sleep.

“Honestly? I usually don’t, but I must make an exception tonight.” Dewdrop said as he sat down on the mattress and started putting on the socks, which were long enough up his shins. “Wow.” He laughed in amusement knowing that he probably looked ridiculous, but he couldn’t care less. He appreciated Earth’s attempt to make him feel safe and snug.

“You don’t have to wear it if you don’t feel comfortable!” The tall ghoul said worried that the other would be forcing himself just not to hurt Earth’s feelings.

“I feel comfortable enough. Thanks, dude.” Dewdrop tucked himself into the blankets, dragging them up to his chin so his face would be the only part of his body visible.

“Aren’t you going to wear the trousers?” Earth asked when he observed the remaining piece of clothing lying on the bed.

“Nah, I’m good.” He brought a hand to rub at his eyes, heavy eyelids already announcing his weariness. 

It was when he noticed the soft smell of the long sleeve. He sniffed it, taking in the fragrance once more. Despite the effects of the enhancement potion he drank hours ago were already wearing off, it was possible for him to identify the features of the perfume. It smelled like spring and the flowers from Earth’s greenhouse, but there was something more unique among the green and woody scents, it made him feel calm and relaxed, ready to doze off.

As if he woke from a trance, Dewdrop felt the mattress sinking and, glancing to the side, he saw Earth joining him in the bed and softening the pillows under his head.

“I’m starting to feel better.” The guitarist said almost in a whisper. 

“You’re gonna feel way better when you sleep.” The drummer turned off the lamp on the nightstand. On regular nights he would take off his mask before sleep because he knew how uncomfortable it was to sleep with it on, but right at that moment he was still debating mentally if he should remove it in front of the other.

They shared a comfortable silence, Earth ready to fall asleep at any time, but Dewdrop still feeling a bit anxious. His body was telling him to rest, but his mind… There was something close to the surface of his thoughts that would make his brain ignore his needs at the moment. 

“You wanna talk?” He asked, trying to mask the pleading tone of his voice. 

Despite being sleepy, Earth agreed as he realized the other’s inquietude. “I guess we can chat a bit, yes.” He covered his mouth with a hand when he let out an involuntary yawn.

“I need to ask you something…” Dewdrop scooted closer, his head now close to Earth’s shoulder and his knees bumping against the other’s thighs. “Do you know how Aether is doing?”

The drummer was caught by surprise by the ghoul’s question. He turned his face to have a better sight of the small ghoul and noticed a glisten on his eyes. Despite the lamp being off, Earth liked to sleep with his window open so the moonlight would come in and lighten his room.

“Aw, Dewdrop… I… I’m not sure...”

“Did you see him during the day?”

Earth recalled the events from that day. While Breeze, Blizzard and Water went to check on Dewdrop, Earth unexpectedly ended up paired with Multi. To his surprise the other ghoul seemed as concerned as he was during that moment and was able to refrain himself from making annoying comments that he usually would. “I actually went after him with Multi earlier, we found him at the library sitting by himself.” 

“Did he say something?”

Earth quietly shook his head. “Nothing too substantial, I’m sorry. But he sounded tired so we decided to not disturb him anymore.”

“I see...” The guitarist lowered his gaze, unsuccessfully trying to hide his disappointment. Earth sighed and turned his body to the side, facing the other ghoul. 

“Dewdrop, I don’t want to meddle in your business, and I’m the last one you’d look for relationship advice, but I’ve seen how much you two care for each other. Maybe you should try talking to him? Someone needs to take the first step, no? Sorry for my inconvenience, it’s just that it’s clear that you both feel devastated about whatever happened...”

For one second the tall ghoul thought that his comment had been too intrusive and he felt ready to apologize.

“Don’t worry, Earth. You’re not being inconvenient and I appreciate your concern, really. Honestly, you’re not wrong… I must talk to him, I’m just… afraid of the outcome.” He paused and gulped, averting Earth’s eyes. 

Usually Dewdrop wouldn’t open up so easily to others, he always tried to hide his vulnerabilities, but despite still being in the process of getting to know Earth, there was something about the drummer that made him feel at ease somehow. “I know I can’t keep ignoring the problem forever, and this is not even my plan, but I need to organise my thoughts first.”

“Fair enough. I truly hope everything will work out for you two again.” Trying to comfort the guitarist, Earth took the liberty to gingerly squeeze Dewdrop’s arm in reassurance, to which the small ghoul responded with a nod, placing a hand over Earth’s.

“That’s very sweet of you, thanks. On a side note, I want to come clean with you guys too, I think it’s only fair that you acknowledge the things you all helped me achieve tonight.”

“I suppose you still can’t tell the details about it, right?”

The small ghoul nodded. “The good thing is that it’s almost over, soon I will be able to let everything out of my chest.” He let out a heavy sigh, exhausted by everything since the beginning of that week. 

Earth realized that Dewdrop seemed to get lost in his own thoughts of retrospection when he noticed the ghoul staring into the void. He then slowly retreated his hand from the other’s arm and sat up on the mattress, catching the small ghoul’s attention, who observed him curiously. The drummer glanced at Dewdrop one last time as if to be sure of what he was going to do and met confused blue eyes looking at him.

Feeling already nervous enough, Earth felt his heart beating fast and his hands start to sweat, so he wiped them on his trousers and took a deep breath before reaching the back of his head. 

“Earth…?” Dewdrop asked unsure of what the other was planning to do, despite his suspicions. The drummer didn’t reply, but released the strap that held his mask in place and held it with one hand. “Wait, are you-” He placed both hands on the mattress and lifted his upper body.

As he exhaled the air he had held in his lungs, Earth carefully removed his mask and placed it on his lap. Dewdrop went silent, astonished by the other’s unexpected move. When the drummer finally turned his head to face him, Dewdrop’s jaw dropped in surprise. Earth’s face was perfectly bathed by the moonlight and the lights from outside, the first thing the guitarist noticed were several freckles covering the ghoul’s flushed skin. Earth had green eyes with dark circles under them, straight light eyebrows that made Dewdrop pay closer attention so he could be sure that the drummer had actual eyebrows. 

His nose was slightly pointy and the bridge was well defined, almost completely straight if it weren’t for a small bump in the middle. Dewdrop’s eyes kept travelling down Earth’s face spotting his small mouth with a bottom lip thicker than the upper one. He also noticed a sparse ginger stubble covering his square jawline. Then the guitarist looked up again, observing the short ginger hair combed to the right and trimmed on the sides.

“Uh… Dewdrop?” Earth called him when he noticed the long silence.

The guitarist blinked a few times and focused on the tall ghoul’s eyes. “Sorry, it’s just that-” He tucked a lock of his own hair behind his ear and sat straight on the bed. “I’m just trying to digest what is happening right now. I wasn’t expecting you to show me your face so soon.”

“About that...” Shyly scratching his nape, Earth looked away and bit his bottom lip. “It’s the first time I feel like I’ve connected with someone here on the surface...”

The ghoul’s words caught Dewdrop by surprise. He’d never suspected that one of his band mates felt like that. “Oh, Earth… Are you serious?”

“I mean, I like the others too, but I’ve never felt part of the group… It doesn’t help that I am also very reclusive, so it’s hard for me to bond with most people. Water has Multi, Breeze and Blizzard are inseparable, same about you and Aether. On the other hand, I...” He paused for a second, not wanting to sound too gloomy. “I have my plants.” He shrugged and showed a weak smile.

“Hey, you  _ are _ part of the group.” Dewdrop leaned forward and placed a sympathetic hand on Earth’s knee.

“Officially, yes, but-” Earth didn’t intend to upset his band mate, but he felt like he should be honest with him. “Uh, sorry.” 

“It’s alright. Well, I hope the way you feel will change with time.” Dewdrop squeezed the other’s knee as if to remind the drummer that he belonged among them all. “Meanwhile I’m very touched to know that you felt comfortable enough to show me your face. I know what people talk about me, but I’m glad that you gave me a chance despite everything you’ve probably heard.”

“Actually… I feel like, because of the circumstances, you showed me a side that you’d not show to others so easily. I’m sorry that you had to go through a hard time lately, but at least we got to talk more. Uh, I hope this doesn’t sound weird.” 

“It does not, at all. I get what you’re saying and I agree.” Smiling, Dewdrop felt grateful for the drummer’s kindness.

“Thank you for trusting me in the first place.”

Dewdrop nodded and scooted closer to the tall ghoul, offering him a hug that he promptly accepted. “Thank you for taking care of me. I owe you a big one.”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” 

It’d been a long while since the last time Earth hugged someone. He’d forgotten how warm and comfortable it could be, the feeling of starting a new friendship making his face tingle and putting his heart to work. He rested his chin on top of Dewdrop’s head while gingerly rubbing his hands up and down the small ghoul’s back. They held each other for a while before lying down and Dewdrop dragged the blanket up to cover them again.

They huddled together and the guitarist clung at Earth’s neck, burying his face in the area while taking a deep breath, what made him take in the scent of the ghoul’s skin, immediately identifying it as one of the fragrances from when he sniffed the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing. Earth wriggled slightly when he felt Dewdrop’s breath reaching his skin, causing him goosebumps and making him instinctively tighten his embrace around the smaller ghoul.

Dewdrop felt warm and comfortable in the other’s arms. There was something about Earth, his energy, his smell, his heat, that set his mind and body at peace; Dewdrop just couldn’t tell if it was because of the blend of scents of the many herbs that Earth handled throughout the day or if it was an effect commonly caused by earth ghoul’s soothing energy. It was probably a mix of both.

Purring as he rubbed his face against the drummer’s long neck, Dewdrop moved a leg forward, bumping against Earth’s, who willingly tangled their legs together, accommodating the guitarist better in their new position. They stopped moving for some time and it was when Dewdrop, with the side of his face pressed against Earth’s neck, felt his pulse point, noticing the fast beats. He smiled to himself and turned his face slightly, just enough to place a couple soft kisses on the freckled skin. 

He waited when he noticed Earth holding his breath. “Wait...” The tall ghoul quietly spoke, gently pulling away from Dewdrop’s hold.

“Is there something wrong?” 

“Dewdrop, I...” He tried to ponder his words because he wasn’t sure how to express himself about that matter. “Listen… I-I don’t want you to think of me that way…” He frowned, feeling nervous wondering if he made himself clear and also about how Dewdrop could react to his words.

The guitarist felt confused for an instant before the realization hit him, so he widened his eyes and immediately apologized. “Oh, fuck, I’m sorry, Earth! I thought that- Uh, I misread your body language, I’m so sorry, dude!” He shook his head, disappointed at himself.

“I understand the confusion, that’s why I decided to make myself clear now.” Earth patted him on the arm. He wasn’t mad at Dewdrop, and if he was being honest with himself, he actually enjoyed what they were doing a few moments ago, however he was aware that maybe Dewdrop could misinterpret his receptivity and think that Earth was willing to get more intimate, which was not the case.

Dewdrop felt embarrassed by his own confusion, but that made something click at the back of his mind. “Does this also have anything to do with that time during breakfast when you gave me a weird look?”

Earth hesitantly nodded. “Kind of… But we should talk about this another time, you need to rest for now.”

“Please, let me know… I’m trying to fix my mistakes and I don’t want to hurt you. What did I do?”

Sighing, the tall ghoul gave up trying to postpone that conversation. “Fine… I don’t know if you noticed, but Multi’s room is next door.” He waited for Dewdrop to acknowledge that fact and the guitarist nodded. “Well, I heard… you two the other night.” Earth looked away, abashed as he recalled the events from that specific night.

“Oh!” Dewdrop felt a brief relieve when he heard that, thinking that maybe Earth was feeling guilty for hearing them without their awareness, so he softened the look on his face. “Don’t worry about that! Neither Multi or I mind others hearing us.”

“Well, I didn’t choose to hear you.” Earth didn’t intend to sound harsh, but he knew that he had to make himself clear.

And for the millionth time that night, Dewdrop felt stupid again for presuming things without thinking too much. He was so accustomed to living in his own bubble that he couldn’t stop to think for one second that other ghouls had a different ways to deal with certain matters.

 "Truth is that…” The drummer resumed talking. “Hm, I’m not like the other ghouls when it comes to, you know, sex…?” He cast a quick glance at Dewdrop, who was now more attentive to the details. “I couldn’t stop myself from wondering about your intentions with me after that night, but when you came to us asking for help I ignored what happened, after all, how could you have known, right? There was no point in being upset at something without explaining how I felt.”

“Earth, I’m sorry, I-” He tried to find the best words to compose his apology, but he was not quite sure how to do it other than being simply direct. “Sorry...” 

The tall ghoul nodded, feeling the honesty in Dewdrop’s few words. “I want us to be friends and… I need a guarantee that you won’t stick around only because you expect something more to happen.”

“Earth… I’m willing to be friends, I swear.” The guitarist placed a hand in the middle of his own chest. “I would never do anything that you wouldn’t want me to do, I’m not that kind of person.” 

“I believe you.” Earth smiled at him and held his hand out for Dewdrop. “So… friends?”

The small ghoul glanced at Earth’s hand and smiled back at him. “Friends.” He shook the ghoul’s hand, whose smile widened, satisfied.

“Uh, hugs and cuddles are allowed though.” The drummer clarified, invitingly opening his arms and waited for Dewdrop, who scooted closer and happily accepted the embrace.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is super important, I can't wait to post it too! Please look forward to it <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Dewdrop to finally come clean with Aether.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yay more drama! But also some well deserved resolution. I'd like to thank @juntao for the AMAZING beta work! I almost tagged her as co-creator of this chapter lmfao! <3
> 
> P.s.: last update of 2019 aww I hope you all have a great 2020!

Despite the warmth and comfort of Earth’s arms wrapped around him, Dewdrop couldn’t have a peaceful night of sleep. He woke up during the night with thoughts of worry and regret. He couldn’t stop overthinking things and after a while his mind traveled to unpleasant places, making him believe that there was no way everything would be back to normal again. He was approaching a decision that he actually would like to avoid, but maybe it was the safest to everyone. 

Perhaps he should follow Earth’s advice and tell Aether the truth before it was too late. And although the fire ghoul had the best of intentions, he was tired of keeping secrets from his partner, and he knew that that wouldn't end well. Dewdrop should face the facts and come clean both about his plan and his feelings.

He took a deep breath and finally mustered the strength to get up from the bed, but Earth’s arm was on his way. Dewdrop tried to move away the other’s limb without waking him up, but despite his thin frame, the drummer was way too strong and had a tight, but not uncomfortable, grip around Dewdrop’s torso.

If he hadn’t decided to go after Aether, Dewdrop would gladly stay in bed with the ghoul, but the small guitarist squirmed beneath the other trying to set himself free. He mentally apologized to Earth when he used a good portion of his strength to push the drummer’s arm, startling him from his sleep.

“Uh, Dewdrop?” The tall ghoul asked, his voice hoarse.

“Sorry for disturbing you, Earth.” Dewdrop quickly sat up when he felt the other’s arms loose around him. He turned to look at the drummer, his face still relaxed from sleep looking almost angelic. 

“Are you leaving?” Earth asked while blinking a few times, his sleepy eyes still burning, so he rubbed them as a soft yawn escaped his mouth.

“Yes,” the guitarist looked down at his hand on his lap, contemplative. “You were right, I can’t waste any more time. I’m going after Aether.” Glancing back at Earth he saw the ghoul smiling in approval at him.

“Good luck.” There was sincerity in his voice and Dewdrop felt grateful for the drummer’s patience and help.

“Thanks, Earth,” Dewdrop cupped the side of the drummer’s face and smiled back at him, “for everything.” He said as he retreated his hand to place it over his side, right on where Earth treated his injury.

“No problem.” They went silent for a few moments and Earth sensed some sort of hesitation coming from Dewdrop, so the ghoul felt like he needed to reassure his friend that he had to go on. “Eh… Not to sound rude, but I seriously need to go back to sleep now and you have something more important to do.”

Chuckling, Dewdrop nodded. “Right.” He finally got up and, before walking towards the door, he took off the cacti socks that he was still wearing, feeling a bit embarrassed and thinking that it would be too out of place to show up at Aether’s looking like that. When he resumed walking, he glanced over his shoulder to say goodbye to Earth one last time.

The guitarist didn’t even bother bringing his broken mask with him, not caring if someone would see him in the hallways on the way to Aether’s room. “Fuck the mask.” He muttered to himself when he turned a corner.

A few moments later and there he was, standing in front of Aether's door. He felt his heart pounding hard in his chest, his hands sweating and anxiety taking over him. Still gathering the courage to knock at the door, he paced around trying to calm himself down and mentalizing the words he would say to his partner. 

Dewdrop hated feeling nervous, he was always so sure of himself, he always knew beforehand what he would do. But, for the past few days, he had been assaulted by fear and uncertainty. He was aware of how their last conversation turned out and now he was afraid that he could make things even worse. However, he needed to talk to Aether, he _had_ to. It was only fair that the other would learn the truth, even if he refused to forgive Dewdrop at least the fire ghoul would find himself free from the guilt of hiding a secret from the person he cared about the most.

Taking a deep breath, Dewdrop stepped closer to the door, but before he could even move, the door was opened. Minus the mask, Aether stood there, eyes locking with the other’s and brows furrowed slightly despite the sigh of relief quietly leaving his lips. “I sensed you.” He spoke in a low tone.

Dewdrop felt actually taken aback by the revelation, his heart now beating so loudly in his ears, but the feeling of surprise soon was replaced by guilt again when he realized once more how kind and attentive Aether was. He was too good for him, Dewdrop didn’t feel like he deserved the other. Maybe his thoughts from a few years ago were true the whole time, he probably wasn’t able to provide the proper love that someone would need, especially a ghoul like Aether.

“Care to tell me what is going on in that mind of yours?” Noticing the other’s silence, Aether said softly as he stepped aside inviting Dewdrop into his room.

The fire ghoul nodded and entered, Aether closing the door behind them. Dewdrop felt like an intruder inside the other’s room, even if he’d been there several times and even recently. He wrapped his arms around his own torso, uncomfortable with their current situation. The taller ghoul sat at the edge of his bed and Dewdrop sensed that he was silently inviting him to sit by his side, but he wasn’t sure if that was the best option, so he decided to sit on the armchair in front of Aether’s bed.

He saw the moment when Aether’s eyes faltered, quickly glancing down at the floor before focusing on Dewdrop again, probably dissatisfied with the small ghoul’s decision to stay away from him. 

After accommodating himself on the comfortable chair, Dewdrop gulped, shutting his eyes for a few seconds. Aether didn’t rush him, he knew the small ghoul was trying his best to finally gather the courage to speak, so he waited patiently. Dewdrop then inhaled until his lungs felt full, and finally opened his eyes, staring at Aether’s.

“A few days ago Sister Imperator contacted me and asked me to meet her in her office. When I arrived there I saw other unfamiliar ghouls, except for one. Remember that fucker I told you about who used to pick on me before I joined the band?”

“The one you beat the ass of?” Dewdrop fought the urge to smile at Aether’s playful tone. 

He knew the big ghoul was trying to make that easier for both, but in the end that was a serious topic and the fire ghoul was uncertain about Aether’s reaction when he finished revealing everything. So he simply nodded. “Anyways, he was there at Imperator’s office. The thing is,” he bit on his bottom lip, “she called me and the others to join a mission...” Aether listened carefully while Dewdrop tried to fight reluctance. “A hunt.” He finally said and averted the other’s eyes.

“What?” The tall ghoul sounded confused. “What kind of hunt?”

“I’m sure you remember the ghouls who fled the clergy a few years ago, don’t you?” He looked up to see Aether slowly nodding, probably already having an idea of what the mission was about but not wanting to believe it. “We had to chase them down and...” He felt a lump forming in his throat at the same time that tears threatened to escape his eyes, but he shut his eyes hard to prevent it from happening. “And kill them.”

“No way...” Aether said in a whisper.

Feeling ashamed, Dewdrop couldn’t bring himself to look at the other ghoul. He shifted in his seat, spreading his legs to rest his elbows on his knees, his head hanging low, eyes focused on the floor.

“Dew… Did you…?” Aether hesitated, but Dewdrop knew that he was trying to ask if he murdered someone. 

“I didn’t.” He heard the other sighing in relief and for a second he wondered if Aether’s reaction would’ve been the same had he given a different answer. Trying not to think about worse scenarios, Dewdrop shook his head. “But I saw them being killed in front of me,” he continued, “and I couldn’t do anything to help them, Aether.”

He saw the other’s feet approaching him, but he refused to look up. Nevertheless, Aether knelt in front of him, placing his hands on the outsides of Dewdrop’s calves, his thumbs gently stroking the skin.

The fire ghoul wished he could just lean into the contact, he just wanted to hug Aether tightly, but he was paralyzed until he felt the ghoul resting his head against the inside of one of his thighs. Dewdrop looked down and finally gave into the urge of running his fingers through the short dark hair. He pulled in a shaky breath as he felt the warmth of Aether’s face against his thigh and the silky texture of his hair under his fingertips. He missed him _so much_.

“But...” Dewdrop said, his voice almost inaudible. “I was actually able to save one of the ghouls.”

“Really?!” Aether looked up at him, his brown eyes glistening with hope. Dewdrop nodded, flashing him a smile, and the tall ghoul mimicked him. “See? You were able to do something to help them.”

“Only one, though...”

“At least you tried, that’s what matters. You didn’t turn your back on them.” Aether gave a reassuring squeeze to one of his knees.

“But I didn’t do this alone, I realized I wouldn’t be able to.” The fire ghoul sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t want to involve anyone in this, but I asked the others for help and so far I’m still not sure whether there will be consequences for them.”

Even if the help of his friends was good enough and worked according to how he expected, uneasiness still haunted Dewdrop. He was quite aware of the danger of that situation and he warned his friends about this, but they all complied saying that helping Dewdrop was worth the risk.

Recalling the conversation with Sister Imperator on the first day of the mission, the fire ghoul kept talking. “Imperator… She threatened to send me back to hell if I refused to cooperate and keep secrecy regarding the mission, that’s why I didn’t want to risk anything.”

He looked down and saw Aether frowning. “I understand now, Dew… And I knew that there was something wrong happening, I felt it, but I couldn’t tell what exactly it was.”

 “Aether, since day one I wanted to tell you about this, but I was afraid that anything could happen to you. I’m so sorry...”

“No, I am the one who needs to apologize. While you were suffering because of a dangerous, serious matter I was selfishly thinking you didn’t lov-” Dewdrop cut the other ghoul while quickly shaking his own head in denial. 

“Don’t say it, please. It’s not true at all. Fuck, I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Sorry, Dew… I suppose my assumption only made things worse for you.”

“Don’t be sorry, please.” Dewdrop prompted his body forward and cupped Aether’s face, looking him in the eyes. “You couldn’t have known.”

The taller ghoul placed his hands over Dewdrop’s, bringing one of them to his lips so he could kiss the knuckles. The lead guitarist let out a sigh and closed his eyes appreciating the contact. Soon a sting of guilt assailed him, and despite Dewdrop being the one who brought too much trouble to his bandmates and his lover, it was Aether who pampered him with kindness and affection. The fire ghoul thought that it should be the other way around.

However, he had made a decision which he was sure that would upset Aether the moment he knew about it, so Dewdrop was hesitant for the time being. 

Before he could form his next sentence, Aether spoke. “I still fail to understand why she chose you for that. You’re a band ghoul...” 

Dewdrop feared that question. He knew too well that from now on things would never be the same anymore, so he had postponed the moment he would reveal the next piece of information because deep inside he didn’t want it to be true. Nonetheless, he couldn’t change the facts now.

He gently retreated his hands from Aether’s hold and stood up, the other ghoul looking at him in confusion. Dewdrop crossed his arms, turning his back to Aether. 

“Dew?” Getting up, the tall ghoul walked towards the other, placing a hand on his shoulder and carefully turning Dewdrop to face him. 

The smaller ghoul’s red face and frown were signs of how much effort was being put in order to conceal emotions. “Because I’m feral, Aether.” He looked up, his eyes watery and voice cracking. Deep down he was mad at himself for not being strong enough to control his own reactions.

A few days ago he denied that fact, he didn’t want to believe in Imperator’s or the leader’s words. He thought he would be able to have a normal ghoul life in the clergy, especially in the band, but he never truly grew out of his fury. Every single thing that happened to him in the past kept haunting him somehow, being in his dreams or old habits and thoughts he couldn’t free himself from. 

“What the hell, Dew? Of course not!” Aether’s first instinct was to pull Dewdrop into his arms, but the small ghoul put an arm between them, carefully pushing Aether back. 

“I am.” He lifted Earth’s long shirt to show the bandage on his side and Aether choked on a gasp at the sight. “I almost killed a ghoul just a few hours ago.”

“Just because you got in a fight that doesn’t make you feral, Dew.” Aether tried to comfort the lead guitarist and make him believe that it wasn’t true, but Dewdrop knew better and he even felt a bit hurt when he noticed the pitying look in the other’s face. He’d rather brutal honesty than kind pity. 

“But it wasn’t only a fight.” He impatiently dragged the shirt down again. “Aether, you and I have been together for quite some time and I’m sure you’ve noticed already many traits in my behaviour that come across as aggressive and violent.” 

“Dew-” 

“It’s fine, you don’t need to be careful with your words because I know it’s true.”

He accepted the truth when he realized he’d destroyed his own room a couple nights ago because he couldn’t control his frustration and anger. He also knew it was true when the night before he attacked the mission leader, almost killing the ghoul. Why keep trying to change his nature if that only led to chaos and harm, not only to him but also to the ones around him?

The truth was that Dewdrop felt like a time bomb ready to explode. The people he cared about didn’t deserve to go through that because of him.

Aether kept silent, he felt like he needed to say something, he wanted to change Dewdrop’s mind and thought that the small ghoul was being too harsh on himself, but he also realized how the current situation was delicate and didn’t want to make the other think he was being underestimated. He hoped that Dewdrop would calm down so they could solve that issue, but the lead guitarist’s next words sent shivers down Aether’s spine.

“I’ve recently decided to leave the band. I can’t bear the thought of hurting any of you.”

“What?! Dew, you’re not leaving the band!” Aether felt like there was no floor underneath his feet and he’d lose his balance at any time. 

“I need to make a good decision at least once.”

“But this is not a good one! I understand your fear, but I can assure you that leaving the band is not an option!” He fiercely shook his head.

“Why not?” 

“Where will you go if you leave the band?”

“It’s not like I’m going to disappear, Aether… I just won’t be a constant in your lives, this way everyone would be safe.” Saying those words actually hurt his heart, but it was still something that the small ghoul judged as the right thing to do.

“Dew, no!” Noticing his own nervousness and how desperate he sounded, Aether closed his eyes for a few seconds trying to keep his control. “Please… Just listen to what you’re saying and you’ll realize it’s a bad choice...” He asked in a softer tone.

The lead guitarist looked at him contemplatively, as if he was considering changing his mind. Leaving Aether’s side was something he’s been avoiding, but if leaving meant to protect Aether from things he had no business being involved with, then so be it.

“I don’t want to risk anyone’s life, yours in special, but I’m sure that Imperator is going to keep an eye on me for a long time. Honestly, you deserve better, Aether.” Dewdrop paused and watched Aether staring at him with a confused look on his face. He felt the urge to cry, but didn’t want to make things more difficult, so he reluctantly started walking backwards in the direction of the door. “I’m sorry for making you waste your time with me.” 

“Dew!” Dumbfounded, the ghoul tried to reach for Dewdrop’s wrist to keep him in place, but the small ghoul quickly retreated his hand, not wanting to prolong the situation.

“Aether, I’m so sorry… But if-” he paused when he heard his voice crack and his face heat when tears pricked his eyes, which he immediately shut. “If this makes you feel any better, I cherish every day we spent together with all my heart.” Dewdrop glanced at Aether one last time before spinning on his heels.

What the hell was he doing? Was he really going to bid him farewell like that? Was there no longer any solution? Or was Dewdrop too blind by his fears that he couldn’t even think straight? The concept of giving up was new to him and he hated how it made him feel.

Just when the lead guitarist was about to turn the doorknob he felt strong arms wrapping around him, enveloping him into the tightest hug. Aether pressed his face harder against the side of Dewdrop’s head and the small ghoul heard the other’s uneven breathing.

“Please, don’t leave.” Aether implored, his voice shaking as he started crying. “Please, I love you so much.” 

Dewdrop clutched at Aether’s forearms over his chest and finally stopped fighting against his own tears, allowing them to fall. “I love you too, more than you think, that’s why I’m-”

“Please, stay.” The ghoul cut him, tightening the embrace even more. “You don’t have to do this, I want to stay by your side forever and if we still love each other why should we part ways now?”

The feeling of Aether’s body pressed firmly against his back assured Dewdrop of how much he starved for his touch, reminding him of the countless times they hugged, kissed and connected their bodies and souls. Aether was his safe haven, he finally found love and acceptance in someone who made him feel wanted and worthy for the first time in his life. Alas, Dewdrop felt that he couldn’t return to Aether everything he so kindly gave him. 

“I don’t want to make you suffer.” The fire ghoul whimpered while lowering his head in shame and focusing on his feet. Then, he felt the arms loosening around him for a brief moment before having his body turned by Aether so they were finally facing each other. Dewdrop had never seen so much pain in the other’s eyes, he had never seen so many tears running down Aether’s face. 

The ghoul held Dewdrop’s face with both hands and looked him in the eye before saying, “not being with you makes me suffer.” Closing the painful distance and capturing Dewdrop’s lips in a kiss as soon as the words left his own. They furrowed their brows while kissing, so desperately that Aether’s body curved into the other’s, pushing Dewdrop back against the wall. 

The small ghoul placed his hands on each side of Aether’s neck and broke the kiss to speak. “I’m so sorry, Aether. I’m just scared and I hate feeling like this, I don’t know what else I can do to change.”

“Dew, you’ve already changed so much, you are the only one who haven’t realized it yet. And you just told me you saved one of the ghouls, I’m so proud of you.” He kissed his tears away and Dewdrop let out a sigh of relief. “You are not a wild feral ghoul and you are more caring than you claim to be. Sure, you can always be a better version of yourself, but saying that you can’t change is a lie. Don’t do this to yourself. I believe in you and you should too.”

Aether pressed his forehead against Dewdrop’s, little puffs of breath hitting their faces. Dewdrop missed that sense of closeness. He felt honesty in the other’s words and found himself convinced by them. If Aether believed in him so much he should listen to his advice and recognize the good things he was able to do.

The fire ghoul gently nodded and wiped Aether’s tears with his thumbs. “I will. For you.”

“No, Dew. You must do this for yourself, okay?” 

Dewdrop felt so genuinely happy to see Aether smiling at him that he couldn’t hold back anymore. He quickly smiled back before clasping their mouths together again, his arms wrapping around Aether’s neck, pulling him even closer than he believed it was possible.

The small ghoul laced one leg around Aether’s, who took the cue to reach down and lift Dewdrop’s thigh up to hook it around his waist. The fire ghoul tightened the embrace around the other’s neck as he raised the other leg, wrapping them around Aether’s waist while he supported Dewdrop’s weight with strong hands under each thigh.

They kissed passionately, knocking the breath out of each other, but also refusing to pull apart for air. Aether stepped aimlessly around the room, tripping over something on the floor, which made them smile against their lips, until he felt the armchair Dewdrop was sitting not long before behind his knees. He held the top of the backrest, leaning the upper body forward and placing Dewdrop on the seat once more.

Finally pausing to catch their breaths, Aether knelt in front of the armchair and placed himself in between the small ghoul’s legs. “Let me look at you, please.” He asked while sliding his fingers underneath the hem of the shirt Dewdrop was wearing.

Dewdrop immediately nodded and stripped off his shirt, tossing it aside and revealing his torso filled with several tattoos written in the language of ghouls. He then raised his hips so Aether could pull his underwear down, freeing the fire ghoul from any remaining piece of clothing. Aether took his time admiring the other’s naked body, caressing his hips and placing sweet kisses to his inner thighs, occasionally licking the skin and dragging his mouth closer to Dewdrop’s groin, who moaned in delight while watching his partner.

The lead guitarist reached down to hold Aether by the chin, tilting his face up to look him in the eyes and then ducking his head to kiss his lips. “You’re so important to me.” Dewdrop whispered against the other’s mouth.

He meant that with all his heart and wished he could tell how deep his feelings for Aether were, but no words were enough to express the truth. However, by the smile on the other’s face, he believed that Aether was fully aware of the fact.

The ghoul took Dewdrop’s hand and rubbed a thumb over the slender fingers. “You’re important to me too, a lot. I hope you understand how much.” And then he gently groped the fire ghoul’s cock with his free hand while kissing each of Dewdrop’s knuckles.

A sigh escaped the lead guitarist’s lips and he closed his eyes, giving into the sensation of the calloused fingers working his length. Aether started stroking him, slowly, going from the base to the head, applying the exact amount of pressure he knew that Dewdrop loved. The sight of the small ghoul with closed eyelids and mouth hanging slightly open made a large grin appear on his face. Pleasuring his partner played a big role in making Aether feel fully satisfied when they were together.

He noticed Dewdrop trying to suppress his sounds, but a surprised gasp escaped through the fire ghoul’s lips when he felt the wetness of Aether’s mouth surrounding two of his fingers, sucking and licking on them while he simultaneously pumped his cock.

Dewdrop took his time to enjoy the double pleasure, panting and feeling his body heating up. Soon he gently retreated his hand from the other’s mouth and placed it over the one caressing his manhood, helping Aether with the task of jerking him off. Minutes later, he caught a glimpse of Aether’s hand closing around his own still restricted erection, pumping it slowly.

“Can we hurry just a bit?” Dewdrop leaned forward and pecked Aether’s lips a couple times. “I can’t wait to have you inside me again.” He said as he reached for the other’s shirt, unbuttoning it.

Aether agreed without thinking twice, he too didn’t want to wait any longer. Undressing quickly, he went on a search for the bottle of lube, kept inside the drawer of his nightstand. When he turned his attention once again to Dewdrop he saw the fire ghoul now standing beside the armchair, impatiently waiting for him. Aether couldn’t hold back a smile, grabbing the other by the waist and pressing their bodies together while he peppered kisses along Dewdrop’s face. 

Then the small ghoul then buried his face into Aether’s chest, as if he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the affection, and kissed him there, dragging him back to the armchair and gently pushing him to sit down so Dewdrop could straddle him. Aether wasted no time, smearing his fingers with lube and reaching behind the other ghoul to caress his entrance before pushing a digit into him. 

Whilst the bigger ghoul worked on stretching him, Dewdrop rubbed his face against Aether’s, purring and eagerly rocking back on the finger inside him. Aether smoothed the other’s hip with his free hand, sliding it towards a cheek and grabbing it, short nails digging into thin skin.

The fire ghoul dragged his lips up the side of Aether’s face until he reached a pierced ear, sucking on the earlobe. Aether had already three fingers inside Dewdrop, curling them, making the fire ghoul arch his back and bite hard on Aether’s skin whenever he felt his sweet spot being stimulated.

“You’re ready for me?” The bigger ghoul asked before kissing Dewdrop’s prominent collarbone.

“Always.” He huskily whispered into the other’s ear, his arms wrapping around Aether’s neck so he could lift his hips. 

Coating the hard cock with lube, Aether positioned himself against the other’s entrance, waiting eagerly for the fire ghoul to finally lower himself. Hungry to taste one another, they chased each other's lips, mouths once again meeting and a moan leaving Dewdrop while Aether buried himself to the hilt inside his lithe body, heat surrounding the cock inside him.

They broke the kiss for a moment, closing their eyes and pressing their foreheads together, still not moving, only appreciating the connection of their bodies and energies. Aether moved his hands to caress the sides of Dewdrop’s thighs, feeling the goosebumps on his skin. The small ghoul rubbed their noses and started slowly grinding his hips while kissing every inch of Aether’s face, who hummed in response.

“I love you.” The bigger ghoul murmured as he slid a hand up Dewdrop’s back until he reached his nape, intertwining his fingers with his locks.

The fire ghoul cupped Aether’s face and pulled him into a deep, moist kiss as they shared breath and passion while their tongues pressed and brushed against each other, following a stunning rhythm that made their heads spin. When Dewdrop moved away a string of saliva escaped the corner of Aether’s mouth, so the small ghoul darted his tongue out to lick at it.

Moving his hips to bury the cock deeper inside himself, Dewdrop gently held one of Aether’s hands and slipped it between their bodies, placing it over his chest. Dewdrop couldn’t see it, but Aether’s pupils widened at the exact moment when he felt the heartbeat and the flow of energy and heat emanating from the fire ghoul’s body. 

The lead guitarist would never be able to understand how exactly the powers of quintessence ghouls worked, but the two of them had talked enough about it in the past and Dewdrop knew how this could enhance their intimacy and union. “I love you too. With my whole being.”

He saw Aether’s brown eyes shining with emotion, tears threatening to fall. The bigger ghoul nodded in appreciation for the other’s words and trust, he wished that moment could last forever, just the two of them in perfect tune. They resumed kissing and moving for a while, but when Aether felt something familiar forming in his gut he exchanged looks with Dewdrop. He didn’t even need to say a word for the other to understand that he meant for them to move to bed before continuing.

Dewdrop stood up and hurried towards the bed, groaning in frustration for being away from Aether’s body, even though he knew it was temporary. Aether followed him, close enough to hug him from behind and kiss his neck and his good shoulder while using his own weight to push Dewdrop forward until they finally reached the mattress. They rolled from one side to the other, limbs tangled, their bodies hot and sweaty and their mouths only parting for them to catch their breaths.

Aether then rolled on top of Dewdrop, dragging his lips down the fire ghoul’s neck and leaving love bites on the fair skin, lingering at the junction of his collarbones. Dewdrop smoothed the other’s hair and wrapped his legs around Aether’s waist once again, grinding against him in hopes that they soon could resume what they were doing. 

The larger ghoul promptly complied, positioning himself to reenter Dewdrop. Low grunts left the both of them, and the smaller ghoul found himself thankful for being full again. It didn’t take long until they picked up the pace, Dewdrop’s breath hitching at every deep thrust hitting his prostate. His eyes fluttered closed, head thrown back, Aether taking his chance to kiss and nibble at the exposed skin.

Dewdrop reached down to stroke his throbbing member, back arching when he felt the combined stimulation sent jolts of electricity through his body. Greatly turned on, the lead guitarist couldn’t hold back a loud moan, the sounds coming from him only adding to Aether’s own pleasure.

While the pace of his thrusts increased, it also faltered as Aether felt his climax approaching. Searching for Dewdrop’s free hand with his own, he intertwined their fingers, hands pressed against the soft mattress while a quick, gentle glance was exchanged before they kissed.

Seconds later, and after one distinct deep thrust, both ghouls came at once, strong as their synchronicity was. Dewdrop released across his stomach, moaning into Aether’s mouth, body shuddering and wriggling beneath the other. Aether canted his hips upwards a few more times to ride out his orgasm, not even realizing how firm his hold on Dewdrop’s hand was until his body finally relaxed.

They breathed hard, Aether nuzzling the other’s neck while still inside him. “I don’t want to-” Dewdrop panted, “-to sound _cheesy_ , but... I love you so much.” He heard Aether chuckling against his neck. “I hate being repetitive but I just wanted to make it clear.” 

The ghoul looked up at the other, a sweet smile plastered on his face. He kissed Dewdrop’s jawline and rolled their bodies to the side so they could face each other. “I know, it’s pretty clear to me. I love hearing you say that.” He stated and brought their linked hands to kiss them.

They stayed close, exchanging caresses for some time, whispering words of love and gratitude. Eventually, they engaged in conversation when Dewdrop explained the details of his plan, but he didn’t want to ruin the mood, so he skipped the heaviest parts. Aether understood his reasoning and didn’t push him any further; he was satisfied enough seeing his partner opening up again to him. The events were still fresh and painful and he knew that Dewdrop would tell him everything in due time.

For now, they just wanted to enjoy each other’s company, snuggling, kissing. Even though they were spent and feeling sleepy, the two of them were trying to make the moment last longer, as if they were unconsciously afraid to fall asleep only to find out that their last hour had been a dream. 

Some time had already passed and now they were lying on their sides, Aether hugging Dewdrop from behind, a leg nested between the fire ghoul’s. Their bodies had already cooled down and the lead guitarist was already convincing himself to catch some sleep until he felt Aether placing wet kisses to his nape and good shoulder, his big hand traveling from Dewdrop’s thigh to his waist.

The small ghoul’s skin was still sensitive from his previous orgasm, and so he felt every hair on his body bristling at the touch of the warm hand. He discreetly whimpered when he felt a sharp pain on his side that was being pressed against the mattress,  suddenly being reminded of his injury. The adrenaline running through his body earlier must have been enough to numb his pain and, despite Earth’s healing ointment being very effective, it still needed some time to take effect.

He chose to keep this to himself, not wanting to interrupt Aether and, if he was being honest, he was able to take pleasure from some pain too. Soon, his attention was back to the warmth of Aether’s mouth on his neck and he could now feel something poking the back of his thigh too. Dewdrop smiled to himself when his body responded to the touch, heating up fast enough, any hint of sleepiness vanishing all of a sudden.

“Is this okay?” Aether asked, his voice hoarse and low, bringing a shiver down the smaller ghoul’s spine.

“Yes.”

“It’s just that I can’t get enough of you.” He held Dewdrop’s chin and turned his face so they could kiss. The small ghoul reached behind him to caress Aether’s thigh and nodded.

“I could say the same thing.” He smiled.

Aether pecked him loudly before leaving the bed for an instant to retrieve the bottle of lube they had left behind, soon joining Dewdrop again, gently biting his bony shoulder in excitement and making the fire ghoul chuckle in amusement. Bodies turned on their sides, Aether slid his fingers inside Dewdrop once more, keeping at it for a while just to make sure that the fire ghoul would stay open and ready to take him again.

Dewdrop brought his knee up to his chest when he felt the heavy weight of Aether’s cock sliding inside his body again, adjusting to the new sensations that the more comfortable position provided, the taller ghoul holding him by the waist so he could have better control of their rhythm.

Dewdrop turned his upper body in the direction of Aether and cupped the side of his neck, bringing his face closer so they could lose themselves in another kiss. Aether‘s hand slipping down Dewdrop’s body and grabbing his half-hard dick, tugging at it. The fire ghoul sucked on the other’s tongue, biting his bottom lip and pulling it before sliding his tongue into Aether’s mouth again.

They kept a steady pace for a while, moving slowly until their bodies asked for more friction, getting ready for a new wave of raw pleasure, which came not too long afterwards, flooding their systems and making them dizzy.

Feeling his whole body oversensitive, Dewdrop squirmed while moaning softly, Aether burying his face in the crook of the other’s neck as he brought him closer. 

“We made such a mess.” Dewdrop mentioned seeing a new layer of cum splayed across his torso and some on the sheets too.

“I don’t care.” Aether carefully pulled out, the fire ghoul grunting out a complaint. He then turned the other to face him and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing their slippery bodies together. “Besides, I know you like it messy.”

“You know me so well.”

They chuckled, nuzzling each other’s faces. This time, sleep caught up to them not long after that and they slept in each other’s arms, a sense of relief and comfort washing over them.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and OMG THIS FIC IS SO CLOSE TO THE END!!! Hopefully I will be able to post the last chapters in January. Happy holidays! <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Masks and summonings. Only a few steps left until Dewdrop finally accomplish his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started writing this fic in December 2018 and finished it in April 2019, I posted the first chapter in May 2019 and it's already January 2020! The next chapter is the last one and I still can't believe it! I've said many times how much this fic is important to me and how it's my baby haha Runaways is probably my Magnum Opus, to quote a friend. I will leave more thanks for chapter 11, but I'm very grateful for everyone who had left kudos and comments in this fic so far <3
> 
> I must thank my betas @mercyfull and @juntao for their attentive and fast work!

Dewdrop had to wake up pretty early the next morning so he could meet Sister Imperator before the mass started and perform a ritual for Dewdrop to receive his new mask. The ghoul had already showed up at Aether’s room late at night, so he was only able to get a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep. At least his mind and heart had found peace after he reunited with Aether. He could worry about recovering lost sleep later, for now he had a plan to stick to.

He took a shower and cleaned the injury on his side, noticing that it looked much better than the previous night, almost completely closed, but he would need a bit more of Earth’s ointment if he wanted it to heal faster. When he finished the shower, leaving the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, he found Aether already awake and stretching while still in bed. 

The guitarist couldn’t hold back his grin as he approached the other, putting one knee on the mattress to support his weight while he prompted his body forward to peck Aether’s lips, but the big ghoul chuckled and playfully turned his face to the side. “What?” Dewdrop asked.

“Are you sure you want to kiss me? I have morning breath.”

“As if I would give a fuck about it. Come here.” Dewdrop gently cupped the side of Aether’s neck and pulled him into a quick kiss. “I love you and I accept your bad breath.” He teased the other and moved away.

“You nasty ghoul.” Aether shook his head, laughing. Dewdrop missed hearing that, so he immediately felt his heart warming. “How is your injury though?”

“I’m recovering pretty well, thanks to Earth.” He replied as he opened the wardrobe and looked for some of his spare clothes that he’d left in Aether’s room. 

“I’m glad to know that.” The big ghoul smiled relieved and got up from the bed.

“By the way,” Dewdrop continued as he dressed himself. “There must be other ghouls awake walking down the hallways at this hour, I can’t risk leaving the room without a mask. Would you please go see Earth and ask him for some ointment and my mask? I left it there.”

“Of course, I’ll just take a quick shower.”

Dewdrop took that time to think about the details of his plan again, just so he wouldn’t forget anything important. Soon Aether finished the shower and got dressed, but when he was about to leave the room, Dewdrop asked him to wait. “Just one more thing.” He said as he collected Earth’s shirt and underwear from the floor.

“What?” Aether looked at him, curious.

“Return this to Earth, please.” He handed the shirt to Aether and stared at the underwear for a while, tilting his head as he carefully analyzed the piece. 

“Did you borrow his boxers too?” Aether lifted an eyebrow and smirked, amazed to know that Dewdrop and Earth were apparently getting closer. 

“Yeah. Do you think I should burn this?” He suddenly asked and Aether looked at him confused.

“What?!”

“Yeah, I’ll burn it later.” Shrugging, Dewdrop tossed the underwear over the armchair. “Tell him I’m sorry, I owe him a new one.”

“What are you-” Aether was interrupted by the smaller ghoul who started to push him towards the door.

“Please, hurry! I need to meet Imperator soon!”

“Fine!”

While quickly making his way to Earth's room, Aether could see that Dewdrop was right, there were already a few ghouls awake who greeted Aether at the hallways. Once there, the rhythm guitarist knocked at the drummer’s door a few times, but there was no answer, so he insisted a little longer until he heard a grunt coming from the inside and after a few minutes of waiting, Earth finally opened the door, his mask askew on his head.

“Aether?” He yawned, leaning against the door.

“Sorry for disturbing your sleep, buddy, but Dewdrop asked me to come get some of that healing stuff you have.” 

It seemed that the mention of Dewdrop’s name caught Earth’s attention and he suddenly looked and sounded a little more awake. 

“How is he doing?” He stepped aside and gestured for Aether to enter the room.

“Much better, he’s very grateful for your help. He also asked me to give you this,” he offered the shirt to the drummer, who thanked him. Aether noticed that the tall ghoul was waiting for one more thing, so he scratched a horn of his mask in embarrassment and continued, “uh, he won’t be able to return your boxers, he’s sorry, but said that he’s gonna buy you new ones soon.”

“What happened to my underwear?” His tired eyes looked at Aether’s in confusion.

“A small accident…?” The ghoul didn’t know what to say, he felt as confused as Earth.

Aether couldn’t see, but the drummer actually grimaced behind his mask. “Eh… I think I’d rather not know what happened after all. Anyways...” He cleared his throat,  stepped closer to the counter and looked for the healing ointment.

As Aether waited, he saw a ghoul mask placed on the nightstand beside the large bed. He approached it and noticed the damage, immediately feeling sad for the terrible things Dewdrop had told him about the mission. He grabbed the mask and held it close to his chest.

“Here, this must be enough.” The drummer handed Aether a small container and some bandages. 

“Thanks a lot, Earth.” He gave him a genuine smile and side hugged the tall ghoul, who was caught off guard by Aether’s move. “Thank you for being by his side too.”

“I-it’s fine…” Earth patted Aether’s back, still feeling positively surprised. When they separated, the tall ghoul shoved his hands into his pockets and awkwardly asked. “Are you… are you alright?” He didn’t want to seem intrusive, but he cared enough to want to know if his band mate was feeling any better.

“Yes, I am.” Aether nodded. “Thanks for caring.” 

Without dwelling any further, they said goodbye to each other and soon enough the guitarist was back to his room. He helped Dewdrop with his bandages and gave back his mask, noticing a twinkle of disappointment in his blue eyes while the fire ghoul stared at the metal piece. Aether tried to assure him that everything was alright and that he shouldn’t feel ashamed, although he knew that it would take some time for Dewdrop’s heart to accept those words as truth. 

“May I accompany you?” Aether asked while holding Dewdrop’s hands.

“I’m not sure… I don’t know how safe it is, I’d rather go alone.”

“Okay. Hopefully it’s the last time you’ll need to do something like this by yourself.” The big ghoul pulled Dewdrop into a tight hug, their masks clinking together, but none of them were bothered by it.

“Hopefully.” He sighed heavily before holding the sides of Aether’s mask and pecking him through the hole in the mouths. “I must go now. See you later, you know where.”

 

***

 

It took him a good deal of self-control to restrain the urge to stop and curse at every ghoul who casted inconvenient glances towards him along the way to Imperator’s office. Dewdrop knew that others would look at him, look at  _ his mask _ , they’d ask themselves how that had happened and more rumors about him would spread. He lost count of how many deep breaths he took until he finally arrived at the office. Staring at the door where it all began, Dewdrop reluctantly turned the knob and entered the room.

“Good morning, ghoul.” He was greeted by Sister Imperator’s cynical smile. She sat by her desk, both elbows resting over the surface. “How do you do?”

“Fine, Sister.” He dully replied as he approached the desk.

“Well, I see that you, just like me, don’t want to waste any more time.” She clasped her hands together and got up. “Come with me.” 

There was a door to another room inside the office, Dewdrop followed the woman there and when she opened the door, he was assailed by cloudy memories from the time he was summoned to the clergy for the first time. The room was filled with the smell of sulfur and molten wax from the red and black candles which lit the place. 

“I reckon you recognize this room, don’t you?” Imperator asked as she approached a table that had a ghoul mask on top, handling the chrome piece.

“Yes.” Dewdrop answered. 

Ghouls usually couldn’t remember many details from their summoning, probably because the memories were spiritually and physically too traumatic. Being in one dimension and then having the body and soul suddenly transported to another dimension through a magical channel was too much for ghouls to handle at first. It was an invasive procedure of detachment and reconstruction of soul and body. It felt like rebirth and it hurt their lungs when they inhaled the sharp oxygen from the surface for the first time, or when they felt the weight of their bones and flesh being pushed down by the force of gravity, or even when they felt the blood being pressured to run inside their veins.

Luckily, almost no ghoul could remember that pain.

“Let’s begin the ritual now, shall we?” The old woman turned to face him, new mask in hands, and stepped closer to him. When she saw Dewdrop nodding and reaching out a hand to take the mask, she called, “Omega.”

The small ghoul then noticed a tall figure emerging from the shadows at the furthest corner of the room. At first he thought it was a trap such was his distrust toward the woman, so he widened his eyes and took a step back.

“Calm down, ghoul. We need a quintessence ghoul to perform this ritual and Omega is one of the most experienced in the subject.”

Dewdrop knew that Omega was one of the most peaceful ghouls in the clergy and he also knew that a quintessence ghoul was required for that task, indeed, but he was on high alert and he couldn’t avoid overthinking any of Imperator’s words and actions from that moment on.

Trying to cooperate, the small ghoul returned to his previous position, but his eyes didn’t leave Omega’s piercing ones. The ghoul stood in front of Dewdrop, tall and intimidating, and took the mask from Imperator’s hands, who approached the table and blew all the candles out leaving the room now pitch black.

At first Dewdrop could only hear his own breathing reverberating through the metal of his mask, but soon he also heard Omega uttering an incantation in the language of ghouls. Dewdrop couldn’t see anything, but he felt when the other ghoul lifted his mask, removing it from his head. He squinted his eyes when he saw a tiny sparkle in front of him, and it grew according to the words uttered by Omega. 

Dewdrop realized that the sparkles were coming from his mask, which in contrast with the darkness surrounding them, looked like stardust melting and falling to the floor before dying down. Then he felt something hard being pressed against his chest, so he touched the object and noticed it was another mask. Speaking their mother tongue, Omega asked Dewdrop to put on the new mask and so the small ghoul did. It fit on his head just like his previous one, in fact, he didn’t feel like there was any difference between them. 

Omega went silent at last and Dewdrop wasn’t sure if the ritual was over, so he waited. Seconds later he heard footsteps and the door behind him opening. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Imperator at the door frame cordially inviting him to leave and so he did, looking at the darkness inside it one last time and waiting for Omega to get out too, but the ghoul didn’t. And then, the door was closed.

“It’s all done, ghoul,” Imperator said while leading Dewdrop to the exit. “The Olde One is grateful for your services in the mission.”

“Should I expect any new calls?” Dewdrop asked trying to be sure that he could officially declare that the mission was over.

“All the fugitives were killed, right?”

“Yes, all of them.”

“That’s all. You’re dismissed and you actually should be rehearsing for the upcoming leg of the tour,” she opened the door and Dewdrop allowed relief  to take over him. Stepping outside of Imperator’s office felt like freedom, but the woman touched his shoulder catching his attention one last time. “However, it’s always wise to keep the guard up,” and she gave him one of her wickedest smiles, “have a nice day, ghoul.” 

She closed the door and Dewdrop felt a shiver running down his spine. 

 

***

 

Reluctantly opening the door of his room, Dewdrop scanned the place with his eyes, observing the chaos he had caused a couple days ago. His belongings were all scattered across the floor, deep scratches marked the surface of the furniture, there was even a desk with a broken leg. He spotted the torn sheets on the floor and his bed tipped over. 

He sighed, disappointed with what he had done but he knew he’d been given a second chance and he would try his best to improve. He didn’t deny his mistakes, he couldn’t even if he tried, so it would be better to learn from them. Not wasting any more time, he started searching for a certain object that was crucial for the next step of his plan. Kneeling down next to a fallen shelf, Dewdrop pushed away some broken things and spotted a blue stone, picking it up and holding it close to his chest, closing his eyes in relief for having found the lapis lazuli that the earth ghoul gifted him a few years back.

 

_ Perfect.  _

The guitarist stood up and left the room, casting one last glance at it before closing the door. He could take care of the mess later. Dewdrop then headed to Blizzard’s room, knocking at her door and waiting for the ghoulette to open it. 

“Finally! Everyone is already here.” She said as she pulled him by the wrist into the room. 

Multi, Water, Breeze, Earth and Aether were sitting on the edge of Blizzard’s bed, engaged in some conversation until they stopped when they saw the lead guitarist. “Hi there!” Multi greeted him with a relieved smile and Dewdrop nodded back at him.

“Thank you all for coming.” The small ghoul honestly told them, the last part of his plan would never be fulfilled if his band mates didn’t help him.

The day before, when Blizzard, Breeze and Water came to find him in his room, he disclosed a few facts about the mission to them, even though he tried to keep it vague about the most substantial details. He asked Blizzard what she knew about invocation spells and she said that she had read about a few. 

At first she could only recall two types of spells, one that was exactly what Dewdrop had been experiencing in the course of his mission, being composed of two summoning circles, one at the place of departure and the other at the destination; the second type was how to invoke ghouls from hell, but none of those could fit his plan, so he asked about any invocation spells that could be performed without two circles.

Blizzard wasn’t sure if that was possible, but she showed him a few rare spell books Breeze had stolen from the library for her, so the four ghouls at that time started searching in the books for any other variation of invocations. Later, Multi and Earth arrived at Blizzard’s room to ask her, Breeze and Water if they had been successful in contacting Dewdrop and found themselves surprised by the small ghoul’s presence there.

The lead guitarist repeated the details he’d told the others and soon Earth and Multi joined them in the task. Not long after, Water found a spell that could only be performed by ghouls. For the ritual to work, the ghoul who was meant to be summoned must had willingly given an object or totem to the summoner. Dewdrop then recalled the stone that he received from the earth ghoul in the past and was willing to try to use it in the ritual. However, there was another detail, the presence of a ghoul of each of the four basic elements, air, water, fire and earth, was required for the ritual. 

Dewdrop didn’t mean to expose his friends to the dangers of the mission any longer, so he felt bad about that requirement. But he didn’t even need to ask the ghouls anything, Breeze and Multi promptly volunteered to help and the other three ghouls soon followed their example without thinking much. They wished to ask about more details, but knowing that things were far too serious, they agreed to help the lead guitarist nonetheless. After all, they all cared for Dewdrop and it could be their only chance to make the ritual work. 

Touched by his band mates’ genuine will to help him, Dewdrop thanked them with all his heart. Knowing that such spell could be possible, he then had to think of a way to rid the ghoul of the clergy’s radar, but he knew that Sister Imperator would only stop looking for the fugitives when they were all confirmed dead, thus Dewdrop wondered whether it would be possible to fake the ghoul’s death.

While she flipped through the book, Blizzard found an odd spell that could recreate a body in the form of a very realistic puppet. That sounded like the perfect plan. They studied the spells for a while and, when Dewdrop felt ready, he informed the ghouls that they should meet there again the next morning. After all was said, he left to fulfill the last night of his mission. 

The other ghouls were left curious and worried about what was going to happen with Dewdrop, but now they were all there with him again, with the pleasant addition of Aether. 

“Are you ready?” Blizzard’s voice made Dewdrop return from his thoughts. He looked at her and noticed the excitement in her hazel eyes.

“Yes, I am.” He replied with a nod. “Are you sure we can do this in your room though?”

“Are you kidding me?! I’m more than sure!” The ghoulette sounded hurt by the ghoul’s doubt. Dewdrop smiled at her enthusiasm, he knew that she was well versed in spells and such and he could see why, her passion for the subject was obvious. “I already drew the circle, look.” She gestured for the ghouls to get up and they moved the bed to the side, revealing a large circle under it with four small rings placed in cardinal directions and another one in the middle. Each ring had the symbol of a basic element drawn inside it, except for the one at the center, which was empty.

“Amazing job, Blizz!” Dewdrop whistled in admiration for the ghoulette’s effort.

“You’re welcome.” She placed both hands on her hips, satisfied with her work. “Okay, so I will stay here,” she stepped inside a ring with the air symbol. “You guys stick to your element.” Water and Earth quickly found their spots and the fire ring was left empty for a while.

“Is it okay for me to stay in the fire circle or would you rather go yourself?” Multi gently held Dewdrop’s wrist and asked him, his tone was soft and caring. He was aware of the importance of the summoning and didn’t intend to screw anything up.

“I want to do it.” Dewdrop flashed him a half smile and Multi let go of the ghoul’s wrist, giving him an encouraging pat on the back before he joined Aether and Breeze near a wall. 

The lead guitarist glanced at Aether before entering the circle and the big ghoul nodded at him as a sign for him to continue, he’d be there for Dewdrop if he needed him. 

“Put the stone in the middle.” Blizzard instructed the small ghoul who promptly complied and returned to the fire ring. “I think everything is in place, I will start now.”

The ghoulette closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to concentrate to recall the conjuration. Speaking their mother tongue, she asked the ghouls to say the name of their elements in order. The first one was Earth, when he spoke  _ ‘kara’ _ the ring where he was glowed a green light; Blizzard was next, saying  _ ‘aal’ _ , and her ring was glowing white, blue for Water,  _ ‘ákiu’ _ , and when Dewdrop said  _ ‘faka’ _ , the name of the fire element, nothing happened.

They exchanged worried looks, Dewdrop repeated the word, but his circle was still black with the paint Blizzard originally used. “What the fuck?” He muttered intrigued.

“I’ve been studying this spell since last night, I’m sure we all said the right words in the correct order!” The ghoulette reassured him. 

“Did the book say anything about hybrid ghouls?” Aether suddenly asked. The ghouls looked at him confused and he stepped closer to the circle. “It’s just something that crossed my mind, Dew is not a fire ghoul only, maybe this could interfere in the ritual.”

“What? I’m not fire enough for this task?” The lead guitarist huffed, half surprised, half disappointed. Some distant memories from his childhood in the fire clan flashed in his mind and he couldn’t stop thinking that all his hard work to be accepted by the others in the past was in vain.

Noticing the dejected look in his partner’s eyes, Aether approached him and held his hand in reassurance. “Well, actually you are more than that since you’re also a water ghoul.”

Dewdrop looked up to meet the kind brown eyes of Aether trying to convince him. Maybe the small ghoul was just being pessimistic, but he squeezed Aether’s hand in understanding of his words.

“Here.” Breeze grabbed the book, opened it in the page of the summoning and gave it to Blizzard, who hurried to analyze the page once more.

They all waited for her next words, but she took quite some time reading and rereading the page and its back. “There’s no mention of hybrid ghouls, I don’t think this is the problem here.”

She almost gave up, turning the pages to the beginning of that section of the book and reading the first page until she spotted the word  _ hybrid _ in one of the last paragraphs. “Wait… It says: the spells that compose the following chapter require the performance of ghouls who have only one element, namely, hybrid ghouls can not reproduce the maximum power of any of their elements. However, two hybrid ghouls who share the same element can perform the spell together as if they occupy the spot of one single being.”

“So you were correct.” Breeze nodded toward Aether. 

“You’re overqualified for the job, Dew.” Multi crossed his arms and winked at the small ghoul, a cocky smile plastered on his face and visible through the hole of his mask. “I suppose you’re now in need of my help.” 

“Quit teasing, get into the damn ring now.” Dewdrop rolled his eyes and stepped out of the circle, giving space for Multi, who a few minutes ago was acting mindful and concerned about the course of the plan, but now couldn’t lose his chance to taunt the lead guitarist even if slightly.

“Can we continue now?” Sounding a bit impatient, Blizzard returned the book to Breeze. “Do you know how to say ‘fire’?” She asked Multi, who glanced back at her in disbelief.

“Wow! You offend me, Blizz. I’m not stupid.” 

He wondered if she was just trying to lighten the mood or if she truly believed he couldn’t remember his mother language, since that was actually not that rare. Many ghouls unlearned their language and some of their habits from hell once they were summoned to the surface and had their lives devoted to the clergy, abandoning a huge part of their past.

“Yes, you are...” Out of nowhere Earth whispered to himself in response to Multi’s latest statement.

“Say what?!” The multi-instrumentalist’s eyes widened in shock with the boldness of the drummer, who barely talked when they were in the same room, yet there he was being bitter. 

“Eh, everyone...” Water felt the tension, not the good type, growing between the two band ghouls and he was right in the middle of the crossfire.

“Shut the fuck up, all of you!” Dewdrop finally bursted out. He was being very patient lately and he felt truly grateful for his friends being there to help him and all, but  _ that  _ was too much and the sense of urgency was being overlapped by their quarrel. “Keep the fucking focus, guys!” He angrily gestured to the summoning circle.

The ghouls went silent and it didn’t take too long for them to start to feel guilty, especially Earth, who knew his comment was unnecessary and it only delayed the ritual. He was about to apologize when Dewdrop spoke again. “Blizzard, please, continue.” And took a few steps back with Aether and Breeze.

Blizzard nodded and restarted the enchantment, their rings glowing one after the other and, when it was Multi’s turn, he said the name of his element, but nothing happened again. 

“Seriously, what the hell is happening?” Dewdrop let out an impatient sigh. “Blizz, did you draw the correct symbol?!” Maybe the problem could be in the drawing after all.

“It’s correct, Dew… Now I don’t know what’s going on, unless Multi is a hybrid ghoul and never told us.” They all laid eyes on the ghoul who felt as confused as everyone else.

“I’m a fire ghoul for all that I know.” He crossed his arms, thoughtful. He was a fire ghoul,  _ right _ ? He could recall many moments from his childhood and he never once felt out of place or was bullied by the others because of a possible second element in his nature. However, he couldn’t deny that he felt weird. “Eh, Dew?” He said and the grumpy ghoul glanced at him. “Come here for a moment...” 

“What now?” He approached the other and stood in front of him.

“Maybe… we should try this together.” 

“Uh?”

“C’mon, something is wrong here, what if it’s me?” Dewdrop could notice the doubtful gaze of the ghoul, who usually was overconfident. The lead guitarist nodded, still feeling a bit reluctant and tired of the failed attempts, but even though he didn’t believe that Multi’s idea was going to work, he decided to comply. 

The fire ring wasn’t too large and Multi had to hold Dewdrop close to him so the both of them could fit inside it. For the third time that morning Blizzard restarted the ritual and when it was time for Dewdrop and Multi to say their element everyone watched them attentively.

“ _ Faka _ .” They said together.

And their circle glowed red at last.

They all sighed in relief and surprise. No one expected to find out that another of their band mates was probably hybrid too, but they could investigate that later. With the four rings shining, a dark smoke started to arise from the fifth circle which had the stone. They observed the cloudy matter expanding and filling the limits of the larger ring and rising to the level of their knees, until it dissipated and revealed a body lying in the middle, clutching the stone. The ghouls made sounds of surprise, Blizzard led both hands to cover her mouth, Water and Earth took a couple steps back, moving out from the circle, Aether and Breeze approached them and carefully watched the eighth ghoul, who seemed unconscious.

“It worked...” Dewdrop stared at the fugitive in disbelief. 

He had been strictly following his plan and, despite some minor adversity, everything was working. The lead guitarist couldn’t stop thinking how odd it felt, as if something or someone else was allowing him to keep his plan in motion. It was so successful so far that he was afraid that it could be easily ruined in no time.

Whether his worries had an actual base or not he couldn’t tell at that moment. Pushing those uncertain thoughts aside, Dewdrop crouched down next to the ghoul recently summoned. 

“Dew, be careful...” Aether alerted him. Even if the ghoul didn’t mean any harm, he could wake up scared and accidently attack any of them. 

They all waited for a few minutes until the earth ghoul shuddered slightly and grunted as he woke up. Dewdrop was the first one he saw when he opened his eyes, but the ghoul couldn’t immediately recognize him, so he quickly sat up and widened his eyes, startled. The lead guitarist lifted both hands in sign for the fugitive to calm down. “It’s me, Dewdrop.” 

Still looking confused, the ghoul’s eyes scanned his surroundings and noticed the others. “Who are they?” He moved away in the direction of a wall, his gaze never leaving the strange ghouls.

“They’re my friends and helped me bring you here. There’s no need to worry, you’re safe with us.” Dewdrop calmly explained as he got on his feet and joined his band mates, giving space for the fugitive, who kept scanning the room with his eyes, not recognizing the place.

“Where am I?” He asked feeling a bit more relaxed.

“In the abbey,” Dewdrop answered, but quickly continued speaking when he saw the ghoul tensing up again. “Trust me, I have a plan for you, you won’t be found, I promise!” The lead guitarist looked in the direction of Blizzard and nodded at her. 

The ghoulette carefully approached the fugitive, but still kept some distance from him. “Hi, I’m Blizzard.” She greeted him, a hint of nervousness in her voice. “Don’t be scared, I will just cast a spell on you so other ghouls won’t find you by your smell, okay?” She tried to be clear with him so the ghoul wouldn’t fear her next actions.

He stared at her for some time before finally nodding, allowing her to step closer and squat in front of him. She took a tiny bottle from her jacket, filled with the ashes of some burnt branches and leaves, pouring some of its contents onto her palm. She mumbled a few words and blew the ashes at the ghoul’s face, who immediately sneezed when he inhaled the dust.

“Sorry about that, but now it’s all done.” The ghoulette apologized and returned to where the others were.

They waited for the fugitive to calm down completely. He stood up and observed them, not knowing what he was supposed to do, so Dewdrop thought it was appropriate to continue with his explanation. He knew that it was too much information all at once, but the ghoul should be aware of the details of the guitarist’s plan.

“The clergy is convinced that all the fugitives were killed, even you. But I thought that it’d be too risky for you to keep hiding as a ghoul. What if they find you again? What if rumors about you are spread? They could try to investigate it and I’m sure you already know what the outcome could be.” 

“What do you have in mind then?” The earth ghoul asked.

“My idea may sound intrusive and I apologize in advance, but considering the circumstances…” Dewdrop tried to find the best words to present his plan.

“Say it.”

“You could abdicate your mask and live as a regular human amongst others, try a new life far away from here.”

The earth ghoul thought it through, trying to rationalize Dewdrop’s idea. It was  _ too _ intrusive, for sure. Abandoning his mask and being exposed to so many human strangers… A ghoul would never think of that. It was a delicate decision, masks were part of a ghoul’s essence, even if they were removable pieces, they still felt like an actual part of their bodies and souls being the conductor of their elemental energy and the keeper of their privacy.

“Have you ever showed your face to someone in the clergy?” Dewdrop asked while the fugitive was still thinking.

“Yes, to my dead companions only.” The ghoul said with grief. Dewdrop felt it and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “Honestly, I see no other way… Your idea actually makes sense.”

The lead guitarist’s eyes shone in relief for the ghoul’s acceptance of his plan. “Listen, the next leg of our tour will start within a couple days. We could hide you in the dorms until then, steal a staff uniform and sneak you into our tour bus, so you could pass as a crew member. Once we’re in another city you could leave. What do you say?”

“Sounds reasonable.” The ghoul nodded. So far trusting Dewdrop had been positive for him and the thought of freedom seemed much more concrete now.

 

***

 

Aether had offered his room to the earth ghoul while he stayed hidden in the dorms and Water and Multi were responsible to provide him water and food. Aether moved to Dewdrop’s room temporarily and when he arrived there he helped the small ghoul clean up the mess from days ago, some sad memories returning to their minds, but both tried their best to chase those thoughts away. They had already overcome that issue, there was no need to keep thinking about it now that things were returning to normal.

There was a lot of work to do, the pieces of furniture that weren’t beyond repair had to be returned to their original places. The broken objects were thrown away along torn clothes and sheets, and Dewdrop also needed a new mattress. The small ghoul didn’t plan to ask for anything new from the clergy superiors, especially from Sister Imperator, but he received an unexpected visitor that afternoon. 

“I noticed your absence at rehearsal, ghouls.” Cardinal Copia himself showed up at Dewdrop’s door, a concerned look in his mismatched eyes. He was wearing his black cassock and had one of his rat companions perched on his shoulder.

“Cardinal?!” Dewdrop couldn’t hide his surprise when he opened the door, Aether following behind him.

Copia tried to peek inside the room over Aether’s shoulder. Sure, he couldn’t see much, but he saw enough to be able to tell that something wasn’t quite right. 

“Do you need anything, ghoul?” He asked, his gaze intimidating even if not on purpose.

“No,” the small ghoul immediately replied, he didn’t need someone else meddling in his business while he had already involved his friends more than he’d like to. “Who sent you here?” His tone was rude and it didn’t go unnoticed even to Aether, who looked down at his partner in worry and then back at Copia, nervous about the man’s reaction.

“No one. I came here by myself.” The man decided to ignore the ghoul’s discourtesy. “You should be aware that band ghouls are my responsibility and you haven’t showed up to rehearsals lately,” he then glanced at Aether. “Neither have you.”

“About that...” The big ghoul tried to think of an excuse, he knew they could never tell the Cardinal what had happened. Even Dewdrop wasn’t sure of the frontman’s involvement with the mission. Was he reliable? Probably not. The ghouls couldn’t trust anyone outside of their group, not even clergy ghouls. 

“I’m not here to demand explanations if you don’t want to tell me,” his eyes travelled from one ghoul to another. “Are you okay?” Both ghouls nodded in response. “Are _you_ _two_ okay?” The Cardinal emphasized his words.

Both Aether and Dewdrop made no effort to keep their relationship a secret, they never intended to, but they also weren’t aware of how much Copia knew about their private lives. The band ghouls and the singer didn’t usually hang out and most of their interactions were exclusively related to band matters. Rehearsals, performances, photoshoots...

Copia, however, wasn’t oblivious to the fact that his ghouls fooled around all together. But, by his way of asking that question, it was clear that he knew there was a deeper, meaningful connection between the two guitarists.

“Yeah.” Dewdrop replied and instinctively searched for Aether’s hand, who intertwined their fingers, squeezing their hands in confirmation.

“There’s nothing to worry about.” Aether said, and yet his words sounded as if they were being directed at Dewdrop instead, who felt his heart flutter and couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m glad to know.” There was some odd sincerity in the Cardinal’s voice. The guitarists hadn’t figured out Copia’s alignment yet but they appreciated his concern. “However, I see that there must have been an accident recently and you are now in need of some new furniture, right?” 

At that moment, Dewdrop realized the man’s intention and, if he was being honest with himself, he truly needed some help. He couldn’t just craft stuff from scratch. “Maybe...”

“I’ll provide you with some new furniture in a few hours, if you don’t mind waiting a little longer.”

The two ghouls exchanged a quick glance and Aether nodded to him in reassurance. “Alright then.” The small ghoul said, finally accepting the offer. Copia flashed them a satisfied smile.

“Excuse me now,” he said, taking his leave.

“Thanks, Cardinal.” Dewdrop said at last when the man was already a few steps away from them.

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned slightly. “Just Copia is fine,” he smiled. “You’re welcome, ghoul.” And he continued on his way.

A couple of hours later and Dewdrop’s room was back to normal as if it had never been destroyed before. The two ghouls were thankful for the frontman’s aid but also couldn’t stop questioning themselves about how trustworthy he was. 

They spent the rest of their day secluded together in Dewdrop’s room trying to make it up for the time they lost recently. As they made love for hours, they felt as if they could never get enough of each other. They’d occasionally stop and just hold each other tightly, never letting go; or they would just pause at times for some relaxed conversation, whispering words of love and reassurance and just enjoying each other’s company.

Every time Aether smiled or laughed it made Dewdrop feel joy and gratitude. Being particularly vocal that evening, the small ghoul expressed his feelings in actual words, but Aether already knew him enough to know words were not necessary. However, the big ghoul didn’t stop his partner, he loved hearing his voice especially when he said such lovely things in that low, sweet tone full of passion that only Aether knew.

They wished to stay like that forever, just showing and telling how much they loved each other.

 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you all in the last chapter!


	11. Final

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of conclusions and new beginnings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is the last chapter of the fic. Looking back at the time I started writing this I realize that it's been a long way, wow! This is the longest fic I've written for any fandom, it took me 5 months to finish it and 8 months to post all the chapters. It might not be too impressive to many, but this fic is very important to me and has a personal meaning which I'm not sure I can properly express in few words.
> 
> I want to thank @ghulehmonster (twitter) for giving me the prompt that started this fic, big thanks to @silver_wing and @mercyfull for discussing ideas with me and reading every new paragraph I wrote. I went through many writer's block while working on this fic and my friends were essential to help me get back to work! 
> 
> I appreciate all the betas that reviewed my fic, @mercyfull, @copias_gloves, @asellas and @juntao <3 If it weren't for you guys this fic wouldn't be published!
> 
> Many thanks to everyone who left kudos, comments or enjoyed reading the fic! <3 Since this story is already completed I hope that there will be new readers soon (I know there are people who prefer to read finished stories ;P). Any feedback is appreciated <3
> 
> Now I'm done with the emotional thanks, you're allowed to read the last chapter.

“Did you get the uniform?” Dewdrop asked Multi.

“Of course.” The ghoul replied as if it were the most obvious thing, the only possible outcome. He then handed a pile of clothes to the earth ghoul they had summoned the day before.

All the band ghouls had gathered in Aether’s room, each of them was responsible for one part of the plan. They’d be back on the road the next morning so they hurried to fulfill their tasks: Multi stole the uniform from the crew building, Water and Earth tried to quickly educate the ghoul on how he should behave and talk so no one would suspect that he was actually an intruder there; Breeze and Blizzard planned their route to sneak the ghoul into their tour bus unnoticed in the middle of the night. 

On the other hand, the ghouls insisted that Aether and Dewdrop shouldn’t worry too much, they could trust and leave most of the work to them. Their band mates got their backs, so the guitarists found themselves free from most of the serious responsibilities at least for the time being.

The earth ghoul put on the uniform but he was still wearing his ghoul mask. Despite following Dewdrop’s plan, the fugitive still had a hard time accepting the fact that soon he was going to abandon his mask forever. He wasn’t sure if it’d bring any consequences to him, there was no registered case of ghouls living without masks on the surface, but the ones in hell that had their masks destroyed couldn’t survive for too long because they had become easy targets to stronger and more violent ghouls.

One thing for sure is that he would lose his connection with his element definitively. But humans didn’t need any elemental power to survive, right? Even ghouls living on the surface didn’t rely much on their elements depending on their roles serving the clergy. It was a risky plan, but maybe the only way for the ghoul to be finally free from the clergy’s claws.

The band ghouls observed him for a while, noticing the contemplative look in his eyes. “I can ask the others to leave the room if you want,” Dewdrop was the first one to speak, “I can escort you to our bus by myself and you hide there until the next morning. We will try our best to keep your privacy.”

“No, it’s fine,” the earth ghoul shook his head. He needed to get used to the fact that his face would be exposed to others soon. “I’d rather you guys be the first ones here to see me than some complete strangers.”

“As you wish.” Dewdrop calmly said.

The fugitive took a deep breath, his dark eyes roaming the room and looking at each ghoul individually, who nodded at him in reassurance. He closed his eyes and held the edges of his mask, slowly lifting it until it had been completely removed from his head. When he opened his eyes again he was met with the band ghouls’ smiles before they bowed their heads in respect of his decision. 

“Thank you for trusting us.” Dewdrop said.

“Thank you for helping me,” the ghoul still felt self conscious about the absence of his mask, so more than once he looked away with his narrow, hooded black eyes. “You didn’t have to, yet you decided to go against your orders.”

“You know, I’ve never actually cared much about the ghouls’ reason to run away, especially when the whole clergy painted them as traitors. But in the end I understood.” The lead guitarist honestly explained and it was true. Before he was involved in the mission, he never paid much attention to what happened and the clergy made sure that the incident was covered up so no one would care enough to keep talking about it making it easier for everyone else to become oblivious to the fact due to ignorance and manipulation.

“Did you already think of a name?” Aether asked, catching the ghouls’ attention.

“Oh, right. Humans have official names recognized by everyone else.” Water commented too.

“A name...” The fugitive held his chin, thoughtful. The idea of having a name being new to him.

“This is a very particular decision, take your time to think. You don’t need to tell us.” Dewdrop assured him.

Originally, ghouls don’t have names. There’s an energy web in Hell that provides energy signatures to each ghoul individually, being one of the ways to distinguish each one apart from smells and looks. Band ghouls are more familiar with the concept of names as a form of identifying them due their constant interactions with humans, so they end up being influenced by human habits and cultures. Even though, their nicknames, often based on their elements, are not recognized by the clergy. Alpha and Omega were the only exceptions.

“Emerald,” the ghoul replied after a while and Earth looked up at him, seemingly curious about the choice. “I’ve always liked how this word sounded and it’s also my favourite stone.”

“It’s a good name.” The drummer agreed. Once in a while he’d venture himself mentally trying to come up with a name, plants and stones being recurring subjects during his ponderations.

Emerald shyly smiled in response, feeling satisfied with his decision. “Speaking of stones…” He walked to where he had left his old clothes and brought them to Dewdrop, handing him the mask and the lapis lazuli. “I need to ask you to destroy these things…” he said, his heart aching and his brow furrowing, “I’m sorry, the stone was a gift to you but I can’t risk being summoned back if the clergy finds out you have helped me and think of a way to get revenge.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Dewdrop replied. He’d like to keep the stone, it was a way to remember the earth ghoul, but he couldn’t deny that Emerald was right. If there was any remaining object willingly given by the ghoul in the clergy he would never be completely safe.

“You’ll need an earth ghoul to get rid of the stone. I’m afraid to manifest my powers within the properties of the abbey again. Someone could feel it...”

“I can do it.” Earth volunteered. 

“Thanks, Earth.” Dewdrop said and gave the stone to the drummer.

The tall ghoul closed his big hands around the stone, covering it completely as he pressed his palms together until the lapis-lazuli turned to pure dust such was the force he had applied. Except for Emerald, everyone else in the room stared at the drummer with their jaws dropped.

“Earth ghouls  _ are _ the strongest!” Breeze commented, taken aback by what she’d just witnessed and the tall ghoul blushed behind his mask.

“You’ll have to teach me how to do it anytime soon if we find out that I’m an earth ghoul too!” Multi excitedly spoke.

“Of all the elements… Why earth though?!” The drummer sighed worried by the thought of having Multi as an elemental relative.

“Are we even sure that Multi is part earth?” Breeze asked confused about why they’d think that, afraid that she had missed some details.

“Not at all, it could be any element, we will need to find out another time.” Blizzard told her. During the summoning ritual they could only be sure that Multi was half fire and half something else that they still needed to discover.

“Guys, focus.” Dewdrop tried to get their attention to what mattered the most in that moment.

Emerald smiled, amused by the interaction between the band ghouls, but it reminded him of his deceased friends, making him feel nostalgic and sorrowful over them. He didn’t want to turn the mood gloomy, so he suppressed those thoughts. He tried to focus on something else and it was when he noticed a familiar energy. He looked at the direction of Multi and then at Earth, who noticed the stare and felt confused for a few seconds, not being sure of the reason why Emerald was looking at him before paying attention to Multi again.

“I can feel some earth vibes coming from you.” Emerald said, but Multi didn’t even have the chance to say something because Dewdrop interrupted whatever was happening.

“Alright, Multi always tries to steal the spotlight, don’t give him any more attention.”

“Hey!” The multi-instrumentalist pretended to be hurt.

“Anyways, it’s already late,” Dewdrop approached the fugitive and placed a hand on his shoulder, “are you ready to go?”

“I am.” The ghoul nodded.

“Let’s go then,  _ Emerald _ .”

 

***

 

The tour buses departed at 5 in the morning and were expected to arrive within four hours in the city where the band was going to perform a ritual later that day. It was somewhat of a long, tiring trip and the ghouls hoped that Emerald was doing fine, they couldn’t risk interacting with him out of nowhere, so they kept their distance, but always making sure to pay attention to whatever was happening around him or whoever approached him.

Fortunately the human staff that morning was very quiet, probably due to the early hour they had to wake up at, so they didn’t bother Emerald too much. Sure, they couldn’t recognize him, but the rate of replacement of the crew was considerably high and there were a few new people with them on that occasion so it actually didn’t raise any suspicion. 

The buses with the equipment went straight to where their ritual would take place, while the other bus proceeded to go to a hotel with rooms reserved for them. Depending on a few factors, mainly the Cardinal’s mood, sometimes the band would stay at a hotel or stick around in their buses. The ghouls preferred the hotel most of the time, it was more comfortable and they could sleep in actual beds instead of small bunks.

When they arrived and the staff started leaving the bus, Dewdrop made a sign for Emerald to wait for a bit and, when the humans had left completely, the ghouls quickly approached the fugitive. 

“What should I do now?” Emerald asked feeling nervous and his hands sweating as he impatiently tapped his foot on the floor.

“Calm down.” The lead guitarist spoke. “I wasn’t sure if we’d stay at a hotel or not, but it doesn’t matter that much, it actually makes your exit a bit easier. Just follow us.”

Emerald nodded and stood up, taking a bag with him. They left the bus, some bodyguards waiting for them on the outside. The band usually entered hotels through a back entrance or any other safe passage that kept their privacy, that being one of the requirements that they’d make to the places that hosted them.

The ghouls met the rest of the staff and followed them inside the building, taking the elevator and soon arriving at the floor where their rooms were. Emerald felt confused, not being sure of what to do next, so Dewdrop discreetly approached the fugitive and whispered to him while the humans were paying attention to the numbers on the doors, looking for their rooms.

“Look to your left,” Emerald obeyed and looked in that direction, noticting the stairs, so he nodded, “I’m sure those lead to the exit of the building. It’s your chance now.” Dewdrop said.

Emerald hesitated for one second. Was that happening for real? If he took the stairs would he meet freedom? What was waiting for him outside the hotel? Would he ever see the band ghouls again? 

So many questions that he’d have to find the answers by himself.

“Please, go while they’re busy!” Dewdrop encouraged him again when part of the crew started entering their rooms.

The other ghouls watched the scene apprehensively, hoping that Emerald would take his leave as quick as possible. Of course they’d like to properly bid their farewells to him and wish him luck in his new journey, but they didn’t intend to ruin his chance. So, when Emerald finally parted ways with them and headed to the stairs, they gave him a final nod and Dewdrop mouthed a “ _ good luck _ ” to him.

Emerald pressed the bag against his chest, feeling anxious, but didn’t stop walking. He went down the stairs and soon the ghouls couldn’t see him anymore.

There was still a feeling of insecurity between the ghouls, how would they know if he had been successful? Would Emerald even be able to leave the building safely? What would he do next? They chatted with him the day before, tried their best to sum up their experience with humans outside the clergy and share the knowledge they had. They provided him a bag with a change of clothes, food and money stolen from a Brother of Sin by Blizzard. They wished they could help him more, the plan wasn’t perfect, but they did what they could given their situation.

When the staff indicated the ghouls’ rooms they all entered the first one they saw, which happened to be Dewdrop’s, and approached the window, peeking out and trying to spot Emerald among the passersby. They waited… And waited, but there was no sign of the fugitive. The ghouls started feeling restless with the thought of their possible failure, but a couple minutes later they saw a person wearing the clothes Emerald had kept in the bag earlier. They saw the figure crossing the street in front of the hotel before disappearing into the crowd.

“He did it.” Dewdrop let out a sigh of relief, Aether approaching him to give him a supportive squeeze on his shoulder.

“Finally.” The rhythm guitarist said with a smile on his face.

“I’m so happy for him!” Blizzard said with tears pricking her eyes and Breeze hugged her.

“I hope he’ll be okay.” Earth honestly spoke.

“Yes, he deserves his freedom. I can’t believe he went through so many bad things...” There was disappointment in Water’s tone. Before that incident he hadn’t realized how abusive the clergy could be.

“It won’t be easy, but I wish him the best life possible.” Multi added.

“Guys,” Dewdrop turned to face them, taking his time to eye each ghoul individually, “I’m eternally grateful for your help and discretion. I’m proud of what we achieved and I couldn’t have done it alone.”

Dewdrop felt a lump forming in his throat. He didn’t like to admit it but the recent events in his life softened him a little, even if temporarily, while he was still dealing with his emotional vulnerability. However, the band ghouls’ hard work and cooperation had been essential for the success of his plan and they were able to save a ghoul who otherwise would have to face the injustices of the clergy.

“It’s fine, Dew,” Breeze said with a happy smile on her face, “we’re family after all, we help each other like that.”

 

_ Family _ .

 

The word lingered in Dewdrop’s mind. Being accepted by people who truly cared about him felt like one of the biggest accomplishments of his life. He, who had been rejected by the clan that was supposed to welcome him, finally found a group of important people who treated him with respect.

Dewdrop found love in many forms. He finally found a place where he belonged.

 

***

 

###  **EPILOGUE**

 

A month had passed since the end of the mission and the band ghouls felt like their relationship with the clergy would never be the same anymore. They became more attentive to the signs of the abuse towards ghouls and found themselves shocked for never noticing it before. It felt like they had just opened their eyes and could finally see the injustices happening around them.

They weren’t sure of what they could do to change that scenario, but certainly there was no easy answer for that. However, the thought of rebellion had awakened inside their minds and there was no turning back. The future was uncertain, but they knew they should do something now that they knew things that most clergy ghouls were oblivious to.

The incident was still too fresh for them, they needed time to organize their thoughts. Especially Dewdrop, who was still going through the process of digesting the events. At the same time, the lead guitarist had also been occupying his mind with an important matter that he wished to discuss with Aether.

It was a warm evening, the sun almost completely down save for its last sunshines cutting the horizon. Aether and Dewdrop were snuggling together in the small ghoul’s bed, Aether smoothing the other’s hair and Dewdrop using his forefinger to make small circles on the big ghoul’s chest. “Aether...” The lead guitarist spoke, “remember when you… When you said you’d like to stay by my side forever?” 

“Sure.” Aether kissed the top of the ghoul’s head in confirmation.

“Did you mean it?” His voice was hoarse and full of expectation.

“Of course! Do you have any doubt?”

“No, it’s just that...” He bit his bottom lip, feeling his heart begin to race. That conversation had played in his mind many times recently and he thought he already knew what he would say when the time finally came but in that moment it felt like he couldn’t remember anything else. “I want to stay by your side too, forever.”

“Dew...” 

Aether held the ghoul’s chin, making the lead guitarist look up at him to see his smile. Aether ducked down his face to capture Dewdrop’s lips, giving him a slow, deep kiss. The small ghoul laced their fingers together and touched the side of Aether’s neck with his other hand. 

However, Dewdrop wasn’t sure if Aether understood what he was trying to do, so when they paused to catch their breath, Dewdrop continued speaking. “I… I’m proposing to you.” He stared deep into the ghoul’s gentle eyes and felt anxiety building inside him as he waited for a reaction from the other, who stared at him dumbfounded.

“Prop- Dew?!” Aether sat up on the mattress, not knowing if he had heard correctly, so he had to ask, “are you serious?!”

“Do you have any doubt?” Dewdrop wasn’t able to stop a grin forming on his face as tears blurred his vision. He surely didn’t doubt that he loved Aether immensely, enough to want to live with him for how long forever lasts.

“I don't.” 

Aether brought Dewdrop closer to him, immediately wrapping his arms around his small frame and hugging him tightly. He heard Dewdrop chuckles muffled by his chest, where the ghoul’s face was being pressed against. Then he moved away just enough for them to kiss once more, feeling tremendous happiness taking over his heart.

The rhythm guitarist showered Dewdrop’s face with kisses and they both couldn’t stop the tears falling from their eyes such was the joy they felt at that moment. 

“So, what's your answer?” Dewdrop asked again, just to be sure.

“Yes! It couldn't be any different.” Aether pressed their foreheads together and Dewdrop couldn’t stop staring at the beautiful smile on his lips, the most beautiful one he had ever seen in his life. “I love you so much, I'm so lucky to have you here with me.”

“I'm the lucky one.” He chuckled and kissed Aether again, passionately, throwing his weight forward to make the other ghoul lay down so he could place his head on Aether's chest. “I love you with all my heart.”

 

THE END

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the little surprise at the end <3 Good news to everyone who likes the story: this is not the end. There won't be a Runaways part II, but all fics from my "On Earth as it is in Hell" series happen in the same universe and the events from Runaways will be crucial to some of the new works I will post eventually (some of them are already written!).
> 
> Once again I must say THANK YOU ALL for the support! See you soon in a new fanfic <3


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